By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Firefighters in Centralia and Chehalis found the Fourth of July surprisingly accident-free, although police had their hands full with the annual fascination with explosive powder.
Somebody blew up a toilet in the men’s bathroom at the skate park off Harrison Avenue in Centralia with an unknown type of firework, according to a report made to the Centralia Police Department about 10:20 p.m. on Saturday.
And officers were called about the same time last night to Eckerson Road where neighbors said a 19-year-old man was on his roof shooting guns into the air.
Witnesses told police he had fired some 50 shots with his .22 rifle and 12-gauge shotgun.
When police arrived, Dana M. Rook, of Centralia, was still on top of his house, but eventually came down, according to police. Officers reported he was intoxicated and tried to struggle with them after he was handcuffed in the back seat of a patrol car.
He was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police, for unlawful discharge of a firearm, minor in possession and resisting arrest.
In Chehalis, firefighters heard lots of racket overnight but it appeared citizens were either careful, or lucky, Fire Chief Kelvin Johnson said this morning.
And responders from Centralia’s Riverside Fire Authority found their night pleasingly uneventful, according to Firefighter-paramedic Rob Smith.
Around 10 o’clock-ish, they were called when a ball from a Roman Candle went out of control and smacked a woman on the backside, but she got away with probably no worse than a little red mark, Smith said.
Residents seem to have made it through the holiday with all their fingers intact, according to Smith. The “old-timers” at the downtown station could hardly believe they got a good night’s sleep last night, he said.
“Not a single fire call all night,” Smith said. “We were just laying there with one eye open and there were no calls.”
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter