Saturday night fire damages metal recycling business near Martin Way and Carpenter Road

Multiple fire crews responded to a commercial structure fire in Lacey Saturday night, a fire official said.

About 5:50 p.m., Lacey Fire District 3, plus other area fire crews, were dispatched to Sutter Metals, a metal recycling business at 109 Carpenter Road NE, just north of Martin Way, said Jennifer Schmidt, deputy chief of operations for the Lacey fire district.

The business was closed for the day, she said.

When crews arrived, the fire was well underway in the main building on the site, she said. They quickly determined they couldn’t fight the fire from within the building, so it became a “defensive” effort, spraying water on it from a distance to confine and extinguish the blaze.

Schmidt said Sunday they don’t know yet what triggered the fire. The blaze rendered the structure a total loss, she said.

Lacey Fire District 3 received assistance from Olympia and East Olympia fire departments. About 30 firefighters were on scene, including 13 fire vehicles. All of that activity closed Carpenter Road and slowed traffic on Martin Way.

The state Department of Ecology also was contacted because of the potential for hazardous runoff, Schmidt said.

Lacey fire crews cleared the scene after 10 p.m. Saturday, she said.

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