Northwest Pediatric Center on Cooks Hill Road in Centralia. / Courtesy photo by Peter Crosby
Updated at 3:22 p.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The building that housed part of the Northwest Pediatric Center in Centralia and was hit by a fire over the weekend will remain closed for several months, but the center is still seeing patients as usual.
They are just moving providers and appointments around to other locations, administrator Lisa McKay said this morning. They opened as usual for business at 7 a.m. today, she said.
Nobody was injured in the Saturday night fire on the 1900 block of Cooks Hill Road at what they call the Centralia East Clinic. It sits adjacent to the Centralia West Clinic.
The fire department revealed today they believe someone set the fire.
Riverside Fire Authority and the Centralia Police Department concluded after their scene examination it was arson, according to Riverside. They are continuing to investigate, including conducting interviews, according to a news release from Capt. Erik Olson.
McKay said she doesn’t really know yet how bad the loss is as far as the building and equipment. They are insured.
“The damage is pretty much to the roof and ceiling,” she said. “We honestly don’t know, we haven’t been in there that much yet.”
Three fire departments responded to the blaze at about 8:10 p.m. on Saturday and found fire in the rear of the building with extension into the attic. By 9:30 p.m., Riverside Fire Authority said it was extinguished.
The center has 55 employees, including eight pediatricians and a psychiatrist, but also has various specialists affiliated with the center who took appointments in the newer building that caught fire, according to McKay.
The practice with more than 15,000 patients also has locations in Chehalis and Rochester.
The most significant loss at this point is the space, McKay said.
For those with upcoming appointments at Centralia East, they will be told where they need to go when they get their reminders calls, she said.
Normally, the walk-in clinic for children – called the Kids Quick Clinic – which is held Monday through Friday from 12 p.m. until 8 p.m. and Sunday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., is housed at Centralia East. McKay said anyone who wants to come for that should just go the Centralia West instead.
The clinic was not open on Saturday. None of the dogs who are part of the practice were there either, according to McKay.
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For background, read “Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup – CHILDREN’S CLINIC CATCHES FIRE IN CENTRALIA” from for Sunday March 1, 2015, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter