A sprinkler system worked as designed in an early morning fire Sept. 17 in the 21600 block of 85th Place South, helping Kent firefighters to extinguish a fire in a large concrete tilt-up building.
The first indication of a problem in the business was a sprinkler water flow alarm, according to a Kent Fire Department media release. The alarm sends a warning when water moves through the sprinkler system after a sprinkler head is activated.
When firefighters arrived they immediately noticed a strong smell of smoke in the area and quickly entered the building. Once inside they found the entire warehouse filled with smoke. More fire units from Kent and Tukwila were added to the incident along with a King County paramedic unit.
It took firefighters a few minutes to extinguish the fire, once it was located, minimizing the damage to the contents of the building.
A search by firefighters determined that no one was in the building during the fire.
The sprinkler system kept damages down by activating a sprinkler head, which helped to check the growth of the fire. The system also automatically sent a signal to a monitoring company who in turn called 911.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Talk to us
Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.
