Police pointed a fire hose at a man who had doused himself and a Capitol Hill apartment with gas Wednesday, then threatened to strike a match.
The man, who refused to identify himself, was sprayed with water, handcuffed and treated by Gold Cross personnel. He walked out of the duplex at 224 W. 500 North disoriented and wet about 1:40 p.m.Adam Flom, 26, purchased the duplex in December and arrived at the building about 12:30 p.m. to start renovation. He found the man in an upstairs apartment and told him to leave. The man refused and Flom left to find a friend.
When they returned to the building, the man had doused himself with gas.
"He told me it was his place," Flom said. "He didn't look like he was going to leave."
Police and fire crews arrived on the scene minutes later. After a short standoff, during which the man told police to "get out, get out," authorities allowed the gas fumes to dissipate, then took a fire hose inside.
Salt Lake City police Sgt. Bill Brown sprayed the man when he threatened to strike the matches.
"All he told me was if we came any closer, he would light them," Brown said. "I had to soak him down with the fire hose and then the fight was over."
It appeared the man was a transient and the apartment is a popular transient quarters, Brown said.