Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The house where the fire in Vader started is still standing, but is just a shell.

The former community center building to the north had to be torn apart with an excavator to extinguish its burning contents.

And the Masonic Hall to the south suffered only superficial damage on an exterior wall.

822 A St., Vader

The cause of Sunday morning’s blaze is under investigation; he doesn’t know what started it, Cowlitz-Lewis Fire District 20 Chief Richard Underdahl said yesterday.

“The back part of the house was really where the intensity was,” Underdahl said. “It was collapsed.”

Firefighters called about 8:50 a.m. arrived to find the single story home on the 800 block of A Street fully involved, with flames coming out the roof and the walls, the chief said.

There was talk about explosions, but Underdahl said he never heard any as he battled the blaze beside his crews.

No occupants were located, but Lewis County Fire District 5 Chief Gregg Peterson who conducted incident command with District 20’s Assistant Chief Ruth Crear said he learned three people got out of the house, including a boy and also a man who went to the hospital with a laceration to his hand.

Peterson said he heard the injury was related to a window, and trying to put out the fire.

Some nearby residents were asked to evacuate the neighborhood as a precautionary measure because of the large amount of smoke, Underdahl said.

“It was bad,” he said. “The smoke was thick, and was really, really bad.”

Some 40 firefighters responded from five other departments to assist, with many on the scene until almost 5 p.m., according to Underdahl.

The chief said the radiant heat from the house fire ignited the contents of the adjacent metal-sided quonset hut style structure. Once a community center, and later in its life a youth center, the building is now owned by an individual who used it for storage, he said.

“They noticed that thing was smoking and realized there must be fire inside,” he said.

Firefighters began to attack it from both ends, but the intense heat forced them back out, and they fought it defensively, he said.

Among the items inside and something that may have contributed, he said he learned later, were as many as 60 five-gallon buckets of hydraulic oil.

An excavator was brought up from Castle Rock.

“We unfortunately had to pull the quonset hut apart,” Underdahl said. “It had to be completely torn apart.”

One firefighter, Assistant Chief Crear, ended up with some type of leg injury, but she stuck around and then went to Providence Centralia Hospital later, Underdahl said.

“We were able to save two little kittens,” he said.

The pair, quite possibly strays, came running out from the brush next to the building, according to Underdahl.

“We grabbed them, got them” he said. “They were just scared.”

•••

For background, read “Fire burning in Vader” from Sunday November 9, 2014, here

Danny Wing, right, and his wife Brenda Wing listen to lawyers and a judge decide their bail in Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Lawyers for the Vader couple accused in the battered child death of a 3-year-old boy both told a judge today nothing in the charging allegations indicate their client did it.

“Nothing in there suggests she was the agent in this death,” Vancouver-based attorney Mark Muenster said.

Brenda A. Wing, 27, and her 26-year-old husband both clad in green striped jail garb sat handcuffed at the defense table during the discussion of their bail pending trial.

“(It) does not contain any evidence Danny Wing abused this child, ever,” Steve Thayer, also from Vancouver, said.

The couple was arrested and charged on Friday in connection with the Oct. 5 death of Jasper Henderling-Warner.

His 21-year-old mother who lives in Vancouver had allowed the Wings to care for her son for a period of time described by the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office as several months. Jasper died at Providence Centralia Hospital where he was rushed after Brenda Wing called 911 and said he was not breathing.

The coroner concluded from healing fractures, numerous bruises and an autopsy Jasper died of chronic battered child syndrome, meaning ongoing physical abuse.

Charging documents describe a timeline and the child’s injuries, but offer no details of what happened to the boy. The Wings gave conflicting accounts of his final weekend.

Nikki Warner wanted to be present at this afternoon’s hearing in Lewis County Superior Court, but said she was stuck in Vancouver, where she’s been mostly homeless and struggling to earn money for food, for gas.

She said she wants answers about her son’s death.

“I’m pretty much numb on the case,” Warner said this afternoon by telephone. “I feel like a deer in the headlights.

“I have to totally shut out my grieving so I can work; I’m pushing myself to sidetrack myself to work.”

Charging documents describe a note signed by Warner and the Wings making them Jasper’s guardians from July 31, 2014 until July 31, 2015. The sheriff’s office has said they are distantly related.

The couple has three children of their own, between infancy and age 6, but they were taken into the custody of Child Protective Services after the Oct. 5 death.

The Wings were arrested when they went to CPS office in Centralia for a visit with their children, on a $500,000 arrest warrant.

This afternoon, Muenster argued Brenda Wing’s bail should be reduced to $50,000, indicating she would be highly motivated to stay in the area with ongoing shelter care proceedings regarding her children.

Lewis County Superior Court Judge Richard Brosey set her bail at $200,000 because of the potential flight risk and the seriousness of the charge.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead requested bail be raised to $750,000 for Danny Wing, because he has prior convictions including domestic violence offenses, and noted a September case in another county involving a drug violation and a third-degree assault of a law enforcement officer.

Attorney Thayer pointed out the Wings retained them after the death and knew a criminal filing could be made, suggesting Danny Wing didn’t flee during that time, so he wouldn’t be likely to flee now.

“Their parents are present,” Thayer told the judge.

Judge Brosey left Danny Wing’s bail at $500,000.

The lawyers asked for a delay before the Wings arraignment, as they need time to see if arrangements can be made about legal representation on the charges.

Ordinarily, a person has a right to be arraigned within 14 days, but they waived that right and a court date was set for Dec. 4, according to Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer.

The Wings are each charged as either the principal or accomplice with homicide by abuse or, in the alternative, first-degree manslaughter.

Sheriff’s office spokesperson Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown has described the mother as upset, angry and sad.

Warner this afternoon said there’s not a word for what she’s going through.

“This whole case with Danny and Brenda, it just blows me away,” Warner said. “I just want to know why they did it, and what my son did that was so wrong.”
•••

For background, read “Coroner: Ongoing physical abuse led to Vader toddler’s death” from Friday November 7, 2014 at 9:18 p.m., here

Tina Murphy of Winlock and Penny Morosoff of Toledo hold posters in support of Jasper Henderling-Warner outside the courtroom this afternoon.

Courtesy photo by Dustin Lampien

Updated

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Authorities have asked at least two households to evacuate as firefighters battle a blaze including one home and a building that formerly housed a youth center in Vader.

Twenty-three-year-old Dustin Lampien said his house across the street is infiltrated with smoke.

“I’m actually getting all the kids clothes and getting out,” Lampien said in a brief phone conversation at about noon. “We’re getting evacuated, as are the neighbors, who have six kids.”

His wife has already taken their four children, ages five and younger, to his mother’s home, he said.

Lampien said it was around 9 a.m. or even 8:30 a.m. when he noticed the house across the street was on fire.

“I heard an explosion, like something blew up, and smoke started billowing out the front and left side of the house,” he said.

He said his understanding was the owner was away, but the owner’s son and two others are staying there. They’re all accounted for, Lampien said.

Lampien lives on A Street near Ninth Street in the tiny South Lewis County town.

He said 40 to 60 foot flames were still rising from the former youth center and fire crews were actively battling that fire.

“The roof just collapsed about five minutes ago,” Lampien said.

He described it as a very large building, with a metal roof, currently being used as storage of “a lot of antiques.”

Cowlitz-Lewis Fire District 20 Chief Richard Underdahl said the quonset hut type structure had no windows and crews tried to fight the fire from inside but finally backed out.

His department was joined by personnel from fire departments from Castle Rock, Toledo, Winlock and Napavine.

The Masonic Hall building on the south side of the house sustained exterior fire damage as well, he said.

Courtesy photo by Dustin Lampien