Police arrest man accused of starting a fire at a downtown apartment building on Tuesday
Police arrested a 32-year-old man accused of starting a fire at an occupied apartment building in downtown Olympia on Tuesday.
The fire engulfed a pile of debris that had been placed on a porch in the 400 block of Franklin Street Southeast, Lt. Paul Lower told The Olympian.
The incident started at around 8:30 a.m. as an officer responded to a loitering complaint, Lower said. The officer reportedly observed smoke rising from the porch from a block away and a man leaving the scene.
“It was obvious that a large pile of trash debris and cardboard on the patio was on fire,” Lower said. “The flames were up to waist high at the time. There was a lot of charred cardboard and the fire looked as if it had been burning for a few minutes at least.”
A sprinkler system initially doused the flames and Olympia Fire Department responded as well. No people were injured by the fire, but Lower said several occupants were threatened.
The officer detained the man, who reportedly appeared covered in ash, and called OFD for aid. The man eventually identified himself but otherwise remained “uncommunicative,” Lower said.
Lower also alleged the man carried a lighter and his shoes had a burnt residue on them.
He was booked into Thurston County jail later Tuesday on suspicion of first-degree arson.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation Wednesday and the extent of the damage had not yet been determined, Lower said.
This story was originally published February 1, 2023 at 11:38 AM.
