Multiple agencies respond to standoff in Olympia Saturday morning
A report of a fire overnight Saturday turned into a much different kind of emergency response, a fire official said.
About 3:45 a.m. Saturday, Olympia fire crews were dispatched to a building at the Bayview Apartments in the city’s Eastside Neighborhood, said Kevin Bossard, assistant chief of operations.
A stove-top fire had set off a smoke alarm, which led to the evacuation of the residents in that building, he said. The garden-style units allow residents to immediately exit outside.
All the residents evacuated from the building except the unit where the fire started. That man refused to leave, which led Olympia police and Thurston County SWAT to respond to the scene.
Thurston County Sgt. Chris Packard acknowledged Sunday that SWAT got involved, but he deferred to Olympia police for comment because it was in their jurisdiction.
SWAT was called because the man pulled out a knife, Olympia police Lt. Paul Lower said.
Law enforcement worked to get the man out of the apartment. He finally exited without incident about 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Bossard said. The man was taken to an area hospital, he said.
Residents reportedly heard an explosion associated with the fire, but fire crews found no evidence of one, he said.
The evacuated residents were put aboard an Intercity Transit bus to stay warm, then were taken to the Olympia fire station and fed, Bossard said. No one was injured.
This story was originally published February 13, 2022 at 1:55 PM.
