Reporter staff
Chris Croft is an experienced Kent firefighter and avid rock climber.
Such skills helped him heroically rescue a mother, father and their baby who were trapped on the third-floor balcony of a two-alarm apartment complex fire in Kent back on Feb. 28.
Croft, in full firefighting gear and an air pack that weighed between 30 and 50 pounds, scaled a portion of the balcony to reach the family and rescue them with the help of Kent Police.
For his quick actions, the Kent Regional Fire Authority rewarded the engineer with the Medal of Valor at a ceremony Wednesday night.
City officials plan to honor the supporting police officers for their efforts at a later time.
Croft was humbled by the honor, adding: “I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did if it weren’t for the guys that were there keeping the fire at bay and supporting me.”
It was back in February when fire broke out at an apartment complex on 88th Avenue South in Kent. The flames spread quickly as first-responding units helped tenants to safety. But the growing fire trapped the family of three in a matter of minutes.
According to his officer’s written account, Croft “arrived quickly with a roof ladder that proved to be too short to reach the victims on the third floor. By now, there were three-to-four police officers on the ground talking to the young family of three. I heard someone say, ‘We’ll catch him (the baby).’ And, my verbal response to that was, ‘No, just stay there. We will get to you soon, stay there.’
Croft climbed the roof ladder to the second-floor balcony, climbed onto its railing and climbed to the third-floor balcony, according to the report.
Once on the third floor, Croft took the baby from his mother and climbed back down to the second floor, handing the baby to the awaiting police officers on the ladder. He then climbed back up to the third floor and grabbed the mother and helped her to safety. Once Croft handed off the mother to the awaiting police officers, he headed back up for a third time. This time, he met the father who had already climbed over the railing and was waiting to be helped to the second-floor balcony. Croft helped the father to the second floor, where he was able to get down the ladder on his own.
Several families were displaced by the fire.
Several of those who were rescued or self-evacuated were evaluated by King County paramedics for minor injuries. No one was transported to a hospital. Kent Police provided security at the fire scene and the Zone 3 Explorers staffed the rehab area.
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