KENT, Wash. — One person is hospitalized and a total of four people are displaced after a house fire in Kent that sparked late Thursday night.
Puget Sound Fire was called to the 22400 block of 134th Place Southeast in Kent just before midnight after multiple 911 calls were placed about a residential fire.
When firefighters arrived in the neighborhood, they found one house with "heavy fire" that had spread to the exterior. It took firefighters an hour to extinguish it.
Crews managed to keep the flames from spreading to any neighboring homes. A home directly to the north did sustain some damage from radiant heat.
One person was treated for minor injuries and taken to a local hospital for observation.
Puget Sound Fire Division Chief Pat Pawlak said all four people in the home were sleeping when the fire ignited, and smoke alarms were able to wake them up in time to evacuate the house safely.
"Smoke alarms in this case definitely saved lives this morning," Pawlak said.
He advised people to check the batteries on their smoke alarms, test them monthly and to be sure to replace them after ten years.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.