As the population in the city of Kent continues to explode, the growth plays a significant role on the effects and demand for public safety.
Serving a city like Kent certainly has it’s unique challenges -- and the department has survived and thrived by adapting and changing, right along with that growth.
As flames engulfed a commercial warehouse in Kent late September, firefighters around the south sound were prepared.
"It is a welding shop, I don’t know what exploded but you do have compressed gas cylinders in there, Captain Keith Kepler told crews on scene in an interview September 20th. Firefighters took a somewhat ‘ariel approach’ high atop a tiller ladder truck.
That was a tactical decision. And according to the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority--an intentional one.
A 67-foot tiller ladder truck is one of the many resources the department has added over the years to adapt to the city's growth.