OLYMPIA, Wash. (KOMO) — A man was arrested after police said he threw "softball size rocks" at firefighters who were responding to an active fire in Washington state.

"In the last few weeks there have been several incidents of individuals interfering with Olympia Fire Department personnel responding to emergencies," the Olympia Police Department (OFD) wrote on X Thursday.

The suspect was booked for third-degree assault, police said. Charges have also been referred for suspects in other recent incidents, police added.

In their initial and brief social media news release, police did not mention the alleged assault happened at a giant homeless camp in town called “The Jungle,” which is located in a wooded area.

Thurston County court documents obtained by KOMO detailed the chaos. The documents state that on April 24, firefighters responded to the camp because of a car fire.

There were reports of ammunition inside the car that had potentially exploded, so firefighters kept their distance. For that reason, along with those inside the camp who “are known to be hostile towards first responders,” crews opted to fight the fire from a distance.

Court documents further state that crews used a special water gun to battle the fire. In the process, crews overshot the fire and some of the other spots in the camp got wet. That angered the residents, and a group of people were accused of confronting the firefighters, yelling at them to turn the water off.

During the incident, OFD had multiple subjects getting into their faces, throwing their items in the brush and threw rocks and branches at them and the fire engine,” documents state.

It was described that the firefighters grabbed tools to defend themselves if needed. The documents go on to say the firefighters, at one point, took cover behind the fire engine until law enforcement arrived on the scene.

Once police arrived, documents said everyone scattered back into “The Jungle.” Crews weren’t able to put the car fire out, and due to the crowd’s hostility, they turned the water off and left.

“The vehicle was still on fire but subjects from the camp were attempting to throw dirt on it to extinguish the fire,” documents state.

At least one of the firefighters recorded the confrontation and police were able to identify one of the people they say was involved. Weeks later, Timothy Matson Jr. was arrested, and charged with third-degree assault, which is a felony.

Matson has a criminal history with felonies, misdemeanors and 12 arrests. In court, prosecutors asked for a $7,500 bail. The court lowered the amount to $5,000 bail.

It’s likely Matson is now out of jail, as he was not found on the jail roster Thursday. He has another court date scheduled for May 28.

People near “The Jungle” who KOMO spoke with anonymously on Thursday said they have significant safety concerns about the giant camp and said the city has allowed the camp to remain in the spot and grow for many years.

Initially, officials with the city of Olympia stated they were not able to comment, but later Thursday evening, a spokesperson sent KOMO the following response:

The city of Olympia can confirm an incident on April 24, 2024, where rocks were thrown at Olympia Fire Department personnel as they responded to a car fire at a local encampment.Responding to fires at encampments can be difficult and unpredictable, largely due to issues of access to the fire and the variety of obstacles crews might encounter during the response. Fire crews have learned to adapt their fire response in ways that keeps firefighters, encampment residents, and the general public safe. Working in crisis situations is what our firefighters do every day, and they do so with the highest level of professionalism.The city of Olympia is proud of the close partnership and working relationship between our fire department, our Police Department and our Housing and Homelessness Team. We are grateful for our emergency responders and for the care and support they provide vulnerable members of our community on a daily basis.”

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