Fire under control in Kent after causing public transit issues
Dec 9, 2022, 7:51 AM | Updated: 10:09 am
Photo from Puget Sound Fire
Update 8:33 a.m.:
The fire is under control, with Puget Sound Fire announcing at 8:10 a.m. that the fire is extinguished and firefighters are working on controlling the hotspots. Transit and roads have also reopened.
The fire has been extinguished and firefighters are hitting hotspots. The Sounder train is running and Smith Street is open. pic.twitter.com/CznnlT3p2F
— ZONE3PIOs (@ZONE3PIOs) December 9, 2022
Original:
A major fire is burning at a commercial building in Kent Friday morning, which officials are saying is impacting some transit services in the area.
Crews responded around 4:30 a.m. to Smith Street and 1st Avenue N, near Sound Transit’s Kent Station.
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Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority Chief Pat Pawlak told KIRO 7 that when crews arrived just after 4 a.m., flames were seen on the roof of the building.
RT @ZONE3PIOs Puget Sound Fire, Renton RFA, and VRFA on location of a 2 alarm commercial building fire at Smith Street and 1st Avenue North. pic.twitter.com/s5qu1CiR06
— Puget Sound Fire (@PugetSoundFire) December 9, 2022
Crews worked to contain the fire to keep it from spreading to nearby buildings, which they were especially concerned about due to the age of the building, its location near a major transit hub, and overhead powerlines running over the building.
“It is a very old building, that’s one of the concerns. We also had overhead power lines that we were concerned about,” said Pawlak.
Crews from Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority, as well as firefighters from Renton, Tukwila, and Skyway, responded to the two-alarm fire.
There’s no word yet on what may have caused the fire.
According to the Sound Transit website, Sounder S line and ST express buses are experiencing significant delays and cancellations.
KIRO 7 contributed to this report
