DOBSON — A man who allegedly threatened his estranged wife with a knife, then set fire to her home and was hospitalized as a result, is facing multiple charges, authorities say.

The Sunday afternoon incident on Shoals Road in Pilot Mountain involved a standoff between Donald Dewayne Johnson and members of the Surry County Sheriff’s Office, who eventually were able to enter the residence with assistance from volunteer firefighters.

Johnson, 52, of 716 Siloam Road, Mount Airy, subsequently was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene and transported to a Winston-Salem hospital where he remained Monday night.

The man, whose injuries are not considered life-threatening, is facing arson, assault and other charges once he is released from the hospital, Sheriff Graham Atkinson said Monday.

Sheriff’s Office personnel were dispatched shortly before 1 p.m. Sunday to the home of Johnson’s estranged wife, Kathy Johnson, at 149 Shoals Road, Pilot Mountain, in reference to an armed assault. “They at one time had occupied it together, but he had been gone about six months, I believe,” Atkinson said of that residence.

Mrs. Johnson told county officers and members of the Pilot Mountain Police Department who responded that when she arrived home from church Sunday and entered her bedroom, she was confronted by her estranged husband.

He allegedly jumped from a closet wielding a 10-inch butcher knife, based on the victim’s account to officers. Mr. Johnson then pushed his estranged wife toward the bed and stated that he intended to kill her and then himself, according to authorities.

Johnson allegedly held the knife to the woman’s stomach and continued to make various threats, according to investigators. However, at one point, the man was distracted and Mrs. Johnson was able to grab a handgun from a nearby location.

The victim then managed to back the suspect out of the bedroom and she fled through the kitchen door, authorities said.

When officers reached the residence the suspect was still inside. They were able to make contact with him and attempted to negotiate his surrender. Johnson allegedly then set fire to the home, but continued to refuse to exit, investigators added.

County deputies tried to enter the structure, but were forced back out due to heavy smoke and limited visibility. Deputies later re-entered the home with the assistance of the Pilot Knob Volunteer Fire Department and found Johnson inside.

He was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene by Surry County EMS paramedics and then taken to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

Atkinson said officers were on the scene for about 45 minutes.

A damage estimate for the rental home was not available.

Once Johnson is discharged from the hospital, numerous charges are expected to be issued against him, the sheriff said, including breaking and entering, second-degree arson, felonious burning of personal property, domestic criminal trespassing and communicating threats.

Calling that a “tentative list,” Atkinson added, “There’s some other stuff that may be pending depending on what the DA’s office says.”

Contact Tom Joyce at tjoyce@mtairynews.com or at 719-1924.