Downed power lines, overgrowth cause problems for crews battling Kent house fire

KENT, Wash. — Crews hustled to put out a large house fire in Kent early Friday morning.

“When they arrived they found a single story house that was fully engulfed in fire,” said Puget Sound Fire Spokesperson Pat Pawluck.

The house is located near Naden Avenue and West Meeker Street, right next to State Route 167. Smoke could be seen from a mile away.

Crews tell KIRO 7 they had trouble accessing the flames.

“Access is an issue because of overgrown landscaping and fencing, and then on the southside we actually had a live powerline down,” Pawluck described. “For firefighter safety we had to limit the areas that we could attack the fire from.”

Preventing the fire from spreading to a building next door also led to further issues.

Firefighters were unable to check the house, but say it’s been empty for a while now. Out front there was “for sale” sign.

Anthony Lewis who lives nearby says he’s seen squatters in the house in the past.

“This is like a main strip for the homeless, they are constantly back there,” he said. “They burned down the house on the other side.”

It’s unclear what caused the fire.

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