A suspected arsonist has been arrested as firefighters battled three large fires across an Olympia neighborhood early Monday morning that left a church and two apartment buildings heavily damaged.
The first fire broke out just before 3 a.m. at the Cambridge Court Apartments in the 2300 block of 9th Ave SW, according to Assistant Chief Mike Buchanan with Olympia Fire. Firefighters found flames coming from the apartment's community building that had spread into the attic. The fire was eventually brought under control, but not before the roof sustained significant damage. The entire building suffered about $450,000 in damage, investigators estimated.
A second fire was reported 40 minutes later at the Hidden Creek Church just five blocks away. There, a fire was found burning in the basement. Firefighters managed to prevent the spread of flames into the building, though there was considerable smoke damage. Overall damage was estimated at $200,000.