A Kent apartment complex was heavily damaged during a Wednesday morning fire, prompting a 2-alarm response fromThe fire was called in shortly after 9 a.m. at 2
A Kent apartment building was heavily damaged during a Wednesday morning fire, prompting a 2-alarm response from Puget Sound Fire and several other local agencies.
The fire was called in shortly before 9 a.m. at 23623 101st Place Southeast in Kent, with a caller allegedly reporting heavy black smoke coming from an upstairs unit.
The fire started in a unit on the first floor but quickly spread upwards into the second and third floors, fire authorities said. At least three apartment units were significantly damaged, but all seven occupied units in the building were evacuated.
Approximately 19 residents were displaced from their homes, fire authorities confirmed.
"Things can be replaced but people can't, and we got the ones we love out," said Antonio Perez.
Perez's two-story unit, on the second and third floors, was completely charred. He told KOMO News he and his two roommates ran to their balcony on the back side of the building with their pets after noticing the thick clouds of smoke.
"We were at a loss because we were on the balcony, but we didn't have a way down," Perez explained.
Perez said he managed to jump to the ground from the second-floor balcony and only minorly injured his leg. His two roommates and a cat and dog were stuck on the balcony, until firefighters arrived shortly after and rescued them, Perez said.
"Five seconds later, they wouldn't have made it," he continued, "I'm just so, so thankful to the fire department."
All other residents of the apartment building also escaped safely. A few of them were treated for minor injuries on scene, but no one was transported to the hospital, Puget Sound Fire confirmed.
"They [the firefighters] relied on their training, the training they get in the fire academy, the ongoing training that they get as we do multi-company drills," said Pat Pawlak with Puget Sound Fire. "It was instinctive."
Perez told KOMO News that he and his roommates had just moved in to their apartment unit a month ago, and they only managed to grab a few necessities before escaping. An online fundraiser has been started to help support them.
Puget Sound Fire said the apartment complex's management team will try to rehome as many displaced residents as possible in empty units on the property. The Red Cross is also assisting the impacted people.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
