Three injured in Kent firework explosion at North Park home
Published 3:14 pm Monday, July 6, 2026
Three “young people” suffered critical injuries in Kent after a firework explosion at about 11:38 a.m. Sunday, July 5 at a house in the 900 block of Second Avenue North in the North Park neighborhood.
“The force of the explosion blew out the home’s front picture window,” according to a July 6 Puget Sound Fire media release. “During the investigation, our fire investigator and Kent Police learned that the firework was found by one of the patients while they were walking in the neighborhood.”
Police officers arrived and provided initial medical treatment, according to Puget Sound Fire. Firefighters and King County Medic One paramedics arrived and began life-support treatment on the three patients for their critical injuries before they were transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Puget Sound Fire did not release the ages, genders or type of injuries suffered by the three patients. Kent Police Deputy Chief Matt Stansfield referred to the injured as “young people” but declined to give their exact ages and genders because he said it likely would be considered protected health information at this juncture.
“Initial reports indicate three young people at the residence had come into possession of some sort of firework while one of the involved was out walking their dog and apparently returned to the house with it,” Stansfield said in a July 6 email. “Tragically, while attempting to light the device, it went off unexpectedly, injuring all three of them significantly.”
Stansfield said the type of firework that exploded remains under investigation.
Puget Sound Fire reminded the public that anyone who finds unexploded fireworks, leave them where they are and call 911.
The incident is under investigation by Puget Sound Fire and Kent Police. Investigators will work to determine what led up to the incident and whether a crime occurred, Stansfield said.
The house is in North Park, east of Highway 167 and the accesso ShoWare Center, west of the BNSF Railway tracks and north of the Kent Station shopping center.
“We also want to encourage the community to keep those injured and their families in their thoughts as they deal with this difficult sequence of events,” Stansfield said.
Fireworks injuries up
As of 11 a.m. Monday, July 6, clinicians at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle have treated a total of 86 people with fireworks-caused injuries incurred in the past week. This represents a 65% increase from last year, when Harborview treated 52 such injuries around Independence Day, according to an email from a Harborview spokesperson.
Tim Fredrickson, the hospital’s associate chief nursing officer, characterized the injuries:
• 32 involve hands
• 15 involve eyes
• 13 involve other body areas (e.g., head, legs, abdomen)
• 26 involve multiple body areas
“This is a troubling increase,” Fredrickson said. “More importantly, these are all individuals whose holiday ended in the emergency department instead of with family and friends. Many of the injuries are severe, including burns, hand and eye trauma that may carry lifelong consequences. Most were preventable.”
