Playing a game of one-upmanship

YOU are the sheriff. A madman (or at least, a man you have convinced the whole town is mad) barricades himself inside his house. He claims to have planted explosives around his home which are ready to explode at the push of a button. You have his house surrounded – but what should you do next?

Option A: Maintain the siege but don’t go any further. He hasn’t hit the button, which is a good sign, as the damned thing would have been pushed already if the man really was crazy. The important thing is not to provoke him, since “mad” in this case means unpredictable. And you have enough manpower to prolong the stakeout indefinitely.