Former fire chief dies in early morning house fire near Black Lake

A former fire chief died in an early Monday morning fire in his home near Black Lake in Thurston County, according to Olympia Firehouse 5.

The nonprofit organization identified the victim as Lyall Smith in a social media post. Smith was hired in 1979 as the first chief of Black Lake Fire District 5.

According to a news release from the McLane Black Lake Fire Department, units were dispatched at 7:14 a.m. to a fully involved residential structure fire in the 3800 block of Sapp Road Southwest. Responding crews arrived to find the home fully involved in fire along with the carport and multiple vehicles.

Firefighters extinguished the fire and received a report that the homeowner was possibly still inside. Smith was removed from the structure, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Other agencies that responded to the incident included the Tumwater Fire Department, East Olympia Fire District 6 and West Thurston Regional Fire Authority.

This story was originally published July 14, 2025 at 4:45 PM.

Ty Vinson

The Olympian

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Ty Vinson covers the City of Olympia and keeps tabs on Tumwater and other communities in Thurston County. He joined The Olympian in 2021. Before that, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. In college, he worked as an intern at the Northwest Indiana Times, the Oregonian and the Arizona Republic as a Pulliam Fellow. Support my work with a digital subscription