By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Firefighters and police called to a small fire in an apartment on the 300 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia yesterday morning learned a resident was trying to kill cockroaches with an improvised flame thrower.
They found light smoke in the area and a little pile of burned papers on the bathroom floor, which had burned itself out, according to the Centralia Police Department. It was just before 9 a.m.
He said he was using the bug spray Off and a cigarette lighter, but caught some paper on fire, Officer John Panco said.
He got scared, ran out and yelled at others to get out of the building, Panco said. There was no damage, but police arrested Calvin J. Byrd, 24, for reckless burning and booked him into the Lewis County Jail, he said.