BIRCH BAY, Wash. — A waterslides business in Birch Bay is preparing to reopen after their operational permit was suspended since a serious injury incident in August of 2023.
The Birch Bay Waterslides website is currently selling day passes for dates beginning Saturday, June 14, 2025, and, according to customers, has been selling season passes since late last year.
The business had their operational license suspended by Whatcom County Health & Community Services immediately following inspections that occurred after an incident sent a 42-year-old man to Harbor View Medical Center with serious leg injuries after his legs went through the side of a water slide.
The following incident narrative was published on a Water Recreation Injury/Death Reporting Form that was completed by Whatcom County Health & Community Services and sent to the Washington State Department of Health.
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- Approximately 12:52 Victim enters slide “Hairpin” and descends slide. Victim strikes slide side riser panel on turn 4 (turn to rider’s left) with both feet/lower legs, yells out, and continues down slide.
- 12:53: Lifeguard 1 and Lifeguard 2 activate emergency action plan by radioing “Code Red at Landing”. Manager exits park office to assess situation at exit pool. Lifeguard 3 leaves station at spa and enters exit pool to assist Victim. Lifeguard 1 stops additional guests from entering slides.
- 12:54: Manager calls 911 and returns to First Aid Hut for additional supplies. Bystander A identifies self as trained medical personnel and offers assistance to Lifeguard 3. Bystander A and Lifeguard 3 apply gauze and pressure to Victim’s injuries. Bystander A requests tourniquets. Manager radios all guard stations to stop operation and to prepare for shut down. Manager, Lifeguard 1, and Lifeguard 2 assist with crowd control. Bystander A applies tourniquets to both of Victim’s legs. Lifeguard 3 and Bystander A continue applying pressure to Victim’s left foot and right lower leg.
- 13:01: Manager meets EMS at facility parking lot and escorts into facility. EMS assumes care of Victim.
- 13:08: EMS departs facility with Victim.
– Whatcom County Health & Community Services (August 29, 2023)
The county health department put the company on notice they were to cease operations until, among other things, the property was inspected by a licensed engineering company and any items failing the inspection were addressed. Initially, only the “tower” slides were closed but the closure extended to the entire property after requested operations and maintenance records were not provided by September 1, 2023.
On February 2, 2024, county health department personnel walked the property with company staff. Health personnel reported the following being observed during that walking inspection.
- Corroded fasteners (bolts) where splash guard panels attach to each other and where splash guard panels attach to the slide deck sections
- Corrosion on fasteners and missing fasteners were noted in several locations, including areas where the splash guard failed
- Missing or damaged fasteners appear more common on the windward (south and west facing) surfaces and less prevalent on other surfaces. The damaged section of the splash guard is on the windward side of the slide
- Damaged fasteners in area of splash guard failure. A loose splash guard panel is noted just upstream from the failed splash guard panel
- A crack in a slide deck panel upstream near the failed splash guard panel
- Downstream end of damaged splash guard is cracked
- Previously repaired damage to a splash guard panel immediately downstream from the failed panel is noted. The area around two bolt locations is ripped out and has been patched to provide material for the bolt attachment
WCHCS staff are not structural engineers and cannot draw conclusions about the reason the splash guard panel failed, nor can staff draw conclusions based on visual inspections that occurred during the August 29, 2023 and February 2, 2024, site visits. However, these findings indicate a need for a structural integrity assessment of the exterior portions of the slide deck and splash guards in addition to the interior the slide decks, splash guards and support structures by a qualified third party.
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Click for more information– Whatcom County Health & Community Services (February 2, 2024)
The company reported via their website, that the following steps have been recently taken to prepare the property for a 2025 season reopening.
- SlideGuys Restoration was hired to refurbish and repaint fiberglass slides
- heavy construction industry contractors, PM Northwest and Total Western, were hired to give the property a “facelift” and make unspecified “behind-the-scenes” structural updates
- the newly hired operations manager, who is an StarGuard ELITE-certified instructor, will lead lifeguard certification courses
- locker rooms, concession stand and the exterior of the main building are being “revamped,” “refreshed” and painted
The man injured in the 2023 incident has sued the company, Birch Bay Jun Yu Waterslides, LLC, along with its contractors, Safe Slide Restoration and Kingworks Consulting Engineers, PLLC, in Whatcom County Superior Court seeking damages stemming from the incident. Whatcom County is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
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