Fire destroyed an abandoned house early Thursday morning on Kent’s East Hill.
Numerous 911 calls around 4 a.m. reported a fire from the roof of a house in the 20900 block of 124th Avenue Southeast, according to a Kent Fire Department Regional Fire Authority media release.
Firefighters arrived and reported a fully involved house fire with smoke and flames from the entire building. After confirming with neighbors that the house had been abandoned and no one was inside, crews decided to fight the blaze from the exterior and keep it from spreading to neighboring houses.
Firefighters from the Kent Fire Department and the Renton Fire Department used large diameter hose lines and a deck gun from a fire engine to knock the fire down.
Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the fire. A person of interest was interviewed by the investigator.
Neighbors reported that the man was up on the roof of the house an hour so earlier than the fire and yelling, said Kyle Ohashi, Kent Fire Department spokesman.
Police arrested the man for unrelated outstanding warrants about one-half hour after officers took him into custody. The man does not appear to have any connection to the property.
A lending institution owns the house due to foreclosure. The house is considered a total loss with an assessed value of $234,000.
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