Kent firefighters extinguished an apparent arson fire at an abandoned house Tuesday afternoon in the 23500 block of 98th Avenue South.
Because it was an abandoned house, crews let the roof burn off to get interior access from the ladder truck, according to Kent Regional Fire Authority officials. The fire broke out just before noon and crews had it extinguished at about 2 p.m.
No other structures were affected by the fire.
Firefighters from the Kent, Valley, and Renton RFAs could see a column of black smoke as they approached the two-story house. When they arrived they found fire coming from the front and back of the house. Several neighbors reported that the house was abandoned.
Since there were no rescues to perform and because the house was abandoned, the incident commander directed crews to fight the fire defensively – meaning from the exterior, well outside any collapse zones.
After fighting the fire for 30 minutes, it was apparent that certain portions of the fire could not be reached from the outside. The commander then instructed crews to stop efforts, allowing the fire in the middle of the house to grow and burn away a portion of the roof. Once this took place, crews directed a large diameter hose stream mounted on the tip of a ladder truck into the house, extinguishing the main body of fire.
According to Kent Police, officers have responded to the house before because of reports of transients. According to Puget Sound Energy, electrical power was not running to the house prior to the fire. Because there is no other reason for the fire to have started, investigators are considering the fire to have been arson.
In addition to firefighters, the Zone 3 Fire Explorers, King County Medic One, and Kent Police also responded to the incident.
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