For the Reporter

Three people, including the occupant of the apartment where the fire started, were injured Thursday morning after smoke and flames were reported at a Kent apartment complex in the 24800 block of 45th Avenue South.

Two men who rescued the resident also were hurt, the Kent Fire Department Regional Fire Authority reported.

All three men suffered non-life threatening smoke inhalation injuries, were evaluated by King County paramedics and sent to local hospitals by private ambulances.

The resident of the apartment, where the fire started, will be taken into custody once he is released from the hospital as a person of interest in what is suspected to be an intentionally set fire, officials said.

The apartment building had a total of 12 units. No one else was injured.

The Kent Regional Fire Authority and surrounding departments found heavy smoke and flames coming from a third-floor apartment when the first units arrived. The fire was first reported around 8 a.m.

A second alarm was requested to add additional units to the call. A quick fire attack limited the fire to the apartment it originated in, though several suffered smoke damage.

A fire wall, which is a partition built into the attic space to segment it, did its job and kept flames and smoke from traveling unchecked through that area, the Kent Regional Fire Authority said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.