Aug. 4, 2014 was supposed to be a day of celebration for Keith and Leigh Tribou. They were about to deliver their first child, a baby boy named Jeffrey. Tragically, Jeffrey was born unresponsive and not breathing. The birthing center began CPR on the infant and immediately called 911. NORCOM received the call and the dispatch team quickly sent the Kirkland Fire Department and Redmond Fire Department Medic 23 to the scene.

Jeffrey was rushed to Evergreen Medical Center in Kirkland and later taken to Children’s Hospital in Seattle. Due to the excellent teamwork of the staff at the birthing center, the NORCOM team, Kirkland Fire Department, Redmond Fire Department Medic 23 and Evergreen and Children’s Hospital, Jeffrey got to celebrate his first birthday on Aug. 4.

“We’re so grateful for the men and women who helped saved Jeffrey’s life, and we’re honored that we were able to share his first birthday with them,” said Keith Tribou.

A year later, Jeffrey is healthy and well and even got to share the occasion with some of his heroes from the Kirkland Fire Department, Redmond Fire Department Medic 23 and his 911 call receiver, Kat Morrison of NORCOM.

“Little Jeffrey is the reason why all of us love our jobs,” said NORCOM Executive Director Thomas Orr. “For our telecommunicators to be able to see Jeffrey celebrating his first birthday makes the many long hard hours they work worth all the effort. Very few jobs provide the opportunity to make a real difference when people are in most need of help.”

“As emergency service personnel, it is a special privilege to see the positive outcomes of our patients. NORCOM wishes a very happy first birthday to Jeffrey Tribou and his family,” the agency said in the press release.

NORCOM provides emergency service communications to the public for emergency medical services, fire, and police agencies, and is located in Bellevue.