Fire damages unit at Island Park Apartment Homes in Kent

A fire of an undetermined cause burned an apartment at the Island Park Apartment Homes in the 23500 block of 60th Avenue South in Kent.

Puget Sound Fire units responded at about 5:34 p.m. Friday to a fire that started at the ground floor of an apartment, according to a Puget Sound Fire media release. A fire investigator reported the cause as undetermined and estimated the dollar loss to the building and contents to be about $250,000.

A resident from a nearby apartment saw flames and called 911. By the time the woman ran to notify the management office the fire had spread to the siding and was moving up the exterior wall. A mother living above the fire could smell heavy smoke coming into her unit and so she picked up her child and safely exited out the front door to the sidewalk and away from the building.

Firefighters arrived as the fire was burning at the eves of the roof and moving into the attic space through the “bird blocks” which provide for attic ventilation. Water was quickly applied to the exterior of the building but the fire had moved into the attic space and was beginning to grow. Additional units moved into the upstairs unit and began to aggressively fight the attic fire.

The command staff arriving called for a second alarm expecting the possible need for more firefighters to fight the blaze.

From the interior of the upstairs unit the attic fire was quickly extinguished, saving three of the four homes. Nobody was hurt and the Red Cross and Island Park management helped move the four families to other units in the complex.

Units from Tukwila, Valley Regional Fire Authority and South King Fire & Rescue also responded and helped extinguish the fire.