Fire causes $200,000 in damage to one of oldest commercial buildings in downtown Olympia

A fire early Tuesday damaged one of the oldest commercial buildings in downtown Olympia.

The fire at the White Building at 209 Fourth Ave. E was first reported at 2:12 a.m. Tuesday. The fire started in a first-floor maintenance and storage room in the back of the building and smoke spread to the second floor, according Olympia Fire Department.

The fire was put out about 2:50 a.m. No injuries were reported.

Damage was estimated to be $200,000. The cause is under investigation.

The building had smoke detectors and a fire alarm system, but no fire sprinklers.

Lacey Fire District 3, Tumwater Fire, McLane/Black Lake Fire and South Bay Fire departments also responded.

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected. The White Building is one of the oldest buildings in downtown, but not the oldest.

This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 9:02 AM.