Courtesy photo from Centralia Police Department investigation
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A joint police and fire department investigation has concluded the blaze that killed three children in their Centralia home was accidental but could not pinpoint a certain cause.
Investigators learned of two possible reasons for the March 4 fire on Ham Hill Road. The fire was believed to have started inside near the front door of the split level home.
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One potential culprit was a compact florescent light bulb in a lamp and the other is recently laundered oily towels, both which had been at the point of origin, according to the Centralia Police Department.
Because more than one possible cause exists, the cause of the fire is officially ruled undetermined.
Their mother who had been sleeping downstairs escaped but the children never made out it out of their upstairs bedrooms. Benjamin D. Tower, 12; Madeline R. Tower, 10; and Samuel J. Tower, 7, died from smoke inhalation.
A police officer who responded to the approximately 12:45 a.m. was injured when he broke a window trying to rescue the kids.
Sue Tower had moved her family into the rental home less than a year earlier.
The Centralia Police Department issued its findings today.
A news release from Cmdr. Pat Fitzgerald states that police detectives and members of Riverside Fire Authority have been diligently investigating.
They knew that morning the origin was within about four feet of the front door.
“At the point of fire origin, there had been a lamp with a compact florescent light bulb (CFL), this light bulb could have malfunctioned and caused the fire,” Fitzgerald wrote. “No remains of the bulb were found.”
The other possible cause is the spontaneous combustion of oily towels, according to Fitzgerald. They had been washed and placed in a crate, near the front door, he indicated.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Thoughts and prayers to the family