By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Centralia police are asking the public for information to help solve suspicious fires two mornings in a row at an apartment complex at the 1000 block of Scammon Creek Road.
On Wednesday, responders were advised some paper had been lit on fire at the corner of a building, but it was out before they arrived, according to the Centralia Police Department.
The following day, a fire broke out within a corridor of the same building, damaging an approximately 15 square foot area of exterior siding; the manager put it out with a fire extinguisher, according to authorities.
Centralia police detective John Panco said this morning the damaged wall has been removed so it can be sent to the state crime lab for examination and checked for possible accelerants.
The cause is undetermined, but it’s being investigated as first-degree arson, according to police.
Panco asks that anyone who knows anything about either incident to phone him at 360-330-7680.
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For background, read “News brief: Arson attempts in Centralia under investigation” from Thursday November 3, 2016, here [1]