Crews work to extinguish flames at Jake’s Fireworks. / Courtesy photo by Derrick Paul
Updated at 10:46 a.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Investigators are looking into vandalism and a fire that left a large fireworks business in Winlock with an estimated $100,000 loss.
Members of Lewis County Fire District 15 spent about 12 hours yesterday at Jake’s Fireworks on the 700 block of Nevil Road.
Fire Investigator Derrick Paul said he is working with the sheriff’s office on the case.
Paul said when employees got to work they discovered vandalism and walked through the property looking around when they discovered smoke coming from one of the many large metal cargo containers on site.
Most of them are locked and used to store fireworks, but the one was used for recycling, such as cardboard and was unlocked, Paul said.
When they opened it to investigate, and allowed oxygen inside, the fire “really took off,” he said.
The radiant heat ignited contents of other cargo containers, according to Paul.
The vandalism that occurred sometime since the day before included someone tampering with the fire suppression system, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said their $7,000 water storage bladder had been sliced open.
A tire on one of the trucks was punctured as well, according to Brown.
Paul said between the vandalism and the items destroyed by the blaze, the loss is upwards of $100,000.
Jake’s is a distributor of wholesale fireworks and a fireworks retailer.
Brown said there is a person of interest and the business is working on providing detectives access to a footage from a surveillance system.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Locate your business to high unemployment, high crime, high tax and high drug use Lewis county. Where youre sure to be hassled by cops for doing normal business and local shop owners will be sure to fabricate some lie about you! What a great place to live! Don’t forget to report your neighbor for having a burn barrel or reporting their kids playing out in their yard unattended!! This has been a public service.
What next? This could of been a devastating incident for sure and is bad enough with what did happen. This business is kept always looking nice and warning signs are posted very clearly to warn people of what it is. If this was a case of vandalism I truly hope the hoodlums are caught asap. before they try something else. To many fires in our local area lately.