Firefighters from the Riverside Fire Authority stand outside the east wing of Northwest Pediatrics which caught fire on Saturday night in Centralia.
Firefighters from the Riverside Fire Authority clean up the scene after responding to a fire at Northwest Pediatrics in Centralia on Saturday night.
Firefighters from the Riverside Fire Authority clean up the scene after responding to a fire at Northwest Pediatrics in Centralia on Saturday night.
Firefighters from the Riverside Fire Authority clean up the scene after responding to a fire at Northwest Pediatrics in Centralia on Saturday night.
Firefighters from the Riverside Fire Authority clean up the scene after responding to a fire at Northwest Pediatrics in Centralia on Saturday night.
Firefighters keep an eye on a fire that was still smoldering Saturday evening at Northwest Pediatrics on Cooks Hill Road in Centralia. No one was in the east building at the time of the fire; meanwhile, the west building was untouched by flames.
Fire crews from three agencies spent a large portion of their Saturday night fighting and putting out hotspots from a fire at a Centralia clinic known for providing medical care for children.
According to Riverside Fire Authority Chief Mike Kytta, firefighters were called to a report of a fire at Northwest Pediatrics, 1911 Cooks Hill Road, after a police officer passing by the building saw smoke coming from the east building of the clinic. Firefighters found extensive smoke coming from the back portion of the structure and began to fight fire that had begun to spread through the northern part of the building.
“We found fire that made it into the attic space area, so we did cut some vent holes in that area,” Kytta said, adding that crews also had to pull out portions of the ceiling and walls to fight the fire. “We’ve been in contact with the occupants of the building and we’ve moved some of their highly valuable properties out.”
No one was in the building at the time the fire was reported, Kytta said. The chief added that the wind blowing from the north likely made the smoke more visible to the officer passing by, as Cooks Hill Road runs just to the south of the Northwest Pediatrics complex.
Firefighters from Chehalis and the West Thurston Regional Fire Authority joined Riverside Fire Authority crews who responded to the fire. Centralia police officers shut down Cooks Hill Road westbound at Military Road to allow crews to access the area freely.
Several staff members from Northwest Pediatrics stood along the sidewalk in front of Cooks Hill Road, watching teams of firefighters and incident commanders work to put out the flames. Firefighters gave employees of the clinic the OK to go inside the west building, which Kytta said was untouched by the fire.
Kytta said at 10 p.m. that firefighters would remain on scene for awhile to ensure the fire was thoroughly put out and no hot spots would flare up. Not much was visible from the exterior of the building in the dark of the night, but what was inside told a much different story.
“There is significant damage to the building,” Kytta said, adding that the full extent of the damage would not be known until firefighters’ work was complete.
Kytta also said fire investigators would work in the coming hours and days to try to determine what exactly caused the fire.
Northwest Pediatrics is a Christian-based medical clinic with locations in Centralia, Chehalis and Rochester. Its Centralia West building also serves as a home to the Health & Hope Medical Outreach, which utilizes volunteer staff to serve people who need urgent care on a walk-in basis, free of charge, each Tuesday evening for three hours.
