Second Hand Rose Antiques and Collectables in the Olympia area suffered significant damage in a fire that broke out early Monday morning.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
“The Second Hand Rose antique store has been a landmark in our area for decades, a place where memories were housed and shared,” Lacey Fire District Three Chief Jennifer Schmidt said in a letter to the community on Tuesday, Feb. 24, sharing her fond memories of browsing the antique store’s aisles with her children.
“It is critical that we recognize that the owners and the many patrons in our area are feeling sadness, and that we share in their grief,” Schmidt said.
Crews with Lacey Fire District Three were dispatched to the antique store, located in the 9000 block of Yelm Highway, at approximately 5:38 a.m. on Feb. 23.
Heavy smoke and limited visibility conditions greeted the first arriving units, who found that the main fire on the first floor had spread into the overhead storage and loft area.
Crews knocked down the first-floor fire and repeatedly tried to access the overhead loft area. But due to the heavy fire load and access issues, including narrow hallways with floor to ceiling storage, the decision was made to switch to a defensive strategy, according to the fire district.
Yelm Highway was ultimately shut down between Meridian Road and Englewood Drive while crews worked on the fire.
Fire response was complicated by limited water supply in the area, with crews mostly relying on the tenders to get water onto the fire.
The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office responded to control traffic and Puget Sound Energy secured power in the area while crews worked.
In total Lacey sent four engines, one ladder truck, one medic, one battalion chief and one water tender to the fire. Three mutual aid partners — East Olympia Fire District Six, Southeast Thurston Fire & EMS and the South Bay Fire Department — each sent tenders to assist.
Most crews remained at the scene until about 8 or 9 p.m. Monday night, with an overnight team staying behind to keep an eye on the building until about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Engines rotated throughout the day so firefighters could eat, rest and change clothes.
“It’s not often that we have fires that have a 24-hour time stamp on them,” Schmidt told the Thurston Chronicle on Thursday.
Schmidt noted that a 24-hour fire call response like the one to Second Hand Rose Antiques and Collectibles on Monday would not have been possible for Lacey Fire District Three a year ago.
“Yesterday was the day our District’s long-term vision became our operational reality,” Schmidt said in her Feb. 24 letter to the community.
Notable recent changes that impacted response to the Second Hand Rose fire include last year’s addition of a second battalion chief who could handle other calls while the other battalion chief managed the antique store fire; the transition of Station 32 to a career station; and “strategic investments” made by the agency and supported by the community.
Schmidt also thanked support services staff and a volunteer who supported crews throughout the day; the media team who advised of road closures and posted information about fire response online; mutual aid partners; and elected officials and community members who have supported the fire district over the years.
“None of this happened by accident. We are here because our community sees our value and brings forward their love and loyalty to our agency. We are here because our elected officials anchor our direction, and because every one of our members continues to bring forward a vision for a safer Lacey,” Schmidt wrote. “Yesterday, we demonstrated to our citizens exactly what it looks like to be ready. I am incredibly proud of each and every one of you…and this agency.”
Owned and operated by Terry Torrence, Second Hand Rose Antiques and Collectibles was run out of a 1925 converted barn.
Torrence closed the store when he retired in December 2024. The store’s remaining inventory was stored in the building.
Torrence thanked firefighters for their efforts to save the building in a social media post on Tuesday.
In the comments of that post, he confirmed that he had found the shop’s cat, Tiger Lilly, outside and safe.
