POLICE swarmed a street near Cessnock before dawn on Friday and arrested a man after a stand-off spanning nearly 10 hours.
The siege, which closed a local primary school and saw homes evacuated, was sparked at about 1.30am on August 16 when officers attended a Wollombi Road property at Millfield.
Police were told at the scene that a man had allegedly barricaded himself inside the house.
A perimeter was established - with dozens of people told to leave their houses, Millfield Public School closed to students temporarily and businesses shuttered - before the man was arrested without incident at about 10.30am.
Police confirmed a 36-year-old man was taken to Cessnock Police Station and was assisting police with their inquiries.
Cessnock council staff set up a roadblock closing a stretch of Wollombi Road to traffic on Friday as emergency services worked throughout the morning.
The police response involved tactical officers in an armoured BearCat vehicle deployed from Sydney, police rescue specialists, the dog squad and uniformed officers.
Multiple ambulance and firefighting crews were also tasked to the scene.
Neighbours told the Newcastle Herald there had reportedly been a threat to "blow up" the house.
One neighbour said they had woken up in the early hours to find dark-clothed police officers near their home who told them to get back inside, before they were asked to evacuate sometime around 5am.
Another nearby resident, Ben Dederer, said he had been asleep at about three o'clock this morning when he heard police out the front.
"We've come out to maybe 10 cop cars and say about 3.30, the SWAT team came," he said.
He said they moved on the house "down the road" and eventually took a man away later on Friday morning.
"They've done a little sweep of the house," he said.
"There's been no talk of what it was over or anything yet."
Neighbours described the resident of the home as a quiet man who was mostly seen coming and going from work.
Businesses on the street, including the local coffee shop and service station, had reopened by about midday and residents had returned to their houses.
