Firefighters rescured a man from a house fire in Maple Valley on Wednesday, June 7.
An incorrect address on Twitter posted by Puget Sound Fire showed that the fire occurred in Kent. Based on that address, an earlier article on the Kent Reporter was incorrect.
Firefighters responded at about 5 p.m. to the 20600 block of 223rd Place SE in Maple Valley. The initial report had an incorrect address of 20600 block of SE 223rd Place in Kent.
Approximately 35 fire department personnel responded to the two-alarm fire, according to an email from Pat Pawlak, spokesperson for Kent-based Puget Sound Fire, which contracts with Maple Valley. There were eight engines, one aid car, one ladder truck, two water tenders and three command vehicles.
Firefighters responded while en route learned that one person was unaccounted for and still possibly inside the house, according to a Puget Sound Fire statement. Firefighters arrived and found smoke coming from the attic area.
Firefighters went into rescue mode and took a hose line though the front door to search for the missing man, according to Puget Sound Fire. Using a ladder, firefighters from Renton Regional Fire Authority entered a second-floor window to look for the resident.
They found the man in the second-floor room and removed him out of the window and down the ladder. Puget Sound Fire firefighters and King County Medic One paramedics performed lifesaving treatment. The patient was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
As of noon Thursday, June 8, the man remained in critical condition in the intensive care unit, according to a Harborview Medical Center spokesperson.
There was at least three other people at home at the time and were able to evacuate the house, Pawlak said.
Due to changing fire conditions, firefighters changed to a defensive fire attack, according to Puget Sound Fire. It took firefighters more than two hours to extinguish the fire.
A passerby saw the smoke coming from the second floor and called 911 to report the fire, Pawlak said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
“This residence is in unincorporated area of King County and the King County Sheriff’s Office investigates fires in unincorporated King County,” Pawlak said.
Renton Regional Fire Authority, Valley Regional Fire Authority and the Zone 3 Fire Cadets also responded.
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It took firefighters more than two hours to extinguish the house fire. COURTESY PHOTO, Puget Sound Fire
Firefighters rescued a man from the second floor of the house. COURTESY PHOTO, Puget Sound Fire
The fire broke out about 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 7. The cause remains under investigation. COURTESY PHOTO, Puget Sound Fire
