It is expected to take at least until Wednesday before Kent Fire Department investigators can enter a destroyed recycling facility for carpeting and carpet padding to try to determine the cause of the fire.
A two-alarm fire Saturday burned down the building.
Fire investigators are not expected to gain access to the building until later this week due to the instability of the building. The insurance company is working with a contractor and engineers so safe entry can me made. It is expected to take several days to investigate given the magnitude of the fire and unsafe building, according to a Monday email from Randy Droppert, Kent Fire Department spokesman.
Firefighting crews from Kent and nearby departments responded to the fire at approximately 4 p.m. First-responding crews found heavy black smoke and flames from the structure in the 700 block of Central Avenue North.
The building is a total loss with structural collapse of exterior walls and parts of the roof complex. The building was unstable, preventing crews from entering the structure, fire officials said.
There were no employees in the building at the time the fire began. There were no injuries to firefighters or civilians.
Firefighters battled a stubborn fire, primarily because it had deep piles of carpeting and carpet padding and because access to the fire was limited.
Crews from Auburn, Renton, SeaTac, Tukwila, North Highline and King County Medic One assisted the Kent Fire Department.
There is no damage estimate available.
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