Kent firefighters battled and contained a house fire at about 3 p.m. Tuesday in the 20200 block of 140th Place Southeast.

The owner of the home and his dog escaped from the fire, said Kyle Ohashi, spokesman for the Kent Fire Department. The man's wife was not at home when the fire broke out.

The owner called 911 to report the fire but had to quickly evacuate the two-story house.

When firefighters arrived, they found smoke and flames coming from the first-floor garage, Ohashi said. Flames also had spread to a second-floor deck and caused a barbecue propane bottle's relief valve to activate due to the heat. Periodic releases caused jets of propane-powered flames to shoot from the back of the deck. Fortunately, they did not cause any additional damage, Ohashi said.

Firefighters from Kent and Renton were able to confine the main body of fire to the area of the garage and prevent it from spreading to the living area upstairs.

Due to the amount of fire and smoke damage the house sustained, electrical power was cut to the home.

A King County fire investigator determine that the fire was accidental after a portable heater tipped and ignited flammable liquids.

The home did have working smoke alarms..

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Contact Kent Reporter Courts, government reporter Steve Hunter at shunter@kentreporter.com or 253-872-6600, ext. 5052.

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