[1]Centralia home is consumed by fire. / Courtesy photo by Kendra Lynch
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Investigators this morning are sifting through what’s left of a single-story house in Centralia to learn what caused a fire last night.
Firefighters responding just after 7 p.m. yesterday to the 700 block of South Silver Street found the structure fully involved in fire, according to Riverside Fire Authority.
As they were headed to the scene, they were told by dispatch of calls from individuals who had seen and smelled smoke in the area for as long as an hour, Firefighter-Paramedic Jennifer Ternan said.
When they arrived, its roof had already burned off, according to Ternan.
“So probably the reports it had been burning for an hour were accurate,” Ternan said.
Ternan couldn’t say for sure why it went undetected for so long. It is in a neighborhood with other homes, but did sit back on its property behind another house, she said.
The man and woman who lived there were out for the evening, but arrived while crews were still on the scene, according to Assistant Chief Mike Kytta.
They are insured and the Red Cross was summoned to assist them, he said.
Kytta said it appeared the worst-burned area was a family room built onto the rear of the home. The home and its contents are likely a total loss, according to Kytta.