KENT, Wash. — Not much is left of a warehouse in Kent after it was destroyed by a fire.
It started out early Wednesday morning on 80th Avenue S in the Warehouse District at Young Ocean, a seafood distribution company.
Puget Sound Fire Division Chief Pat Pawlak says by the time crews arrived, most of the roof was already gone and they had to go into a defensive attack.
“Being a concrete tilt-up warehouse, the fact that a lot of the roof was gone, walls are less stable, it was all for firefighter safety,” said Pawlak.
Fire crews spent hours dousing the flames as the parking started to flood.
“I think that the height of it, we were probably flowing about between five and six thousand gallons of water per minute,” said Pawlak.
With so much water flooding the area, up to three feet in spots, fire engines had to move to higher ground.
After the fire was under control, city crews went in to pump out the water, in order to be able to restore power that was cut off to neighboring buildings.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
“When we did arrive we did have to cut the lock and chain on the gate, so it was a secure building, no employees inside, they don’t work overnight shifts here,” said Pawlak.
No firefighters were hurt and no other buildings were damaged.