Lewis County Sirens.com

Vader resident’s shop building is still standing, but pretty much destroyed by fire, explosions. / Courtesy photo by Ted McCarty

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A fire yesterday west of Vader in a metal shop building where marijuana was being cultivated caused an explosion so powerful it raised the roof, blew the helmet off a firefighter and knocked him down.

“He was not injured, he got back up and continued to put the fire out,” Fire Investigator Ted McCarty said.

Members of the the fire department called about 11:30 a.m. to the 100 block of Brim Creek Road found smoke rolling from beneath three bay doors as well as smoke and flames coming through the roof, according to Cowlitz-Lewis Fire District 20.

Fire Capt. Ellis Andrews had just gotten the north door opened so they could get at the flames, and turned to walk away, Chief Rich Underdahl said. Underdahl was at the road about 20 feet away, hooking up the water tender.

The blast rocked the building, closed the rollup door and sent debris blowing past them both, Underdahl said. He said the concussion pushed him backward a step or so.

“There was so much smoke, all I could see was his helmet fly off,” Underdahl said. “It came at me.

“I’m yelling, Ellis, Ellis, are you alright? He gets up and says, yeah.”

There were only three of them on the scene at the time.

They had just finished participating in the May Day parade held each year in the small South Lewis County town. Andrews had piloted the department’s antique Ford fire engine, which he parked and traded for a water tender when the tone came out, according to Underdahl.

Andrews is the captain at the station in Ryderwood.

Firefighters from Toledo and Winlock joined them to battle the blaze.  The medics who were summoned had to go find Andrews to check him out, Underdahl said. “He was back on a hose line,” he said.

The fire was extinguished before it could ruin the south end of the structure which contained tools, a motorcycle and propane tanks but the other end was destroyed, according to the investigator.

Lost were a couple of boat motors, marijuana gardening equipment and plants, McCarty said.

The big blast was just one of about five explosions, and what produced it couldn’t be determined.

The cause of the fire appeared to be overloaded electrical circuits, according to McCarty. The grow lights were on a timer, he said.

“(The owner) was not at a home, he had left earlier in the day and set them to come on, I think he said at 10 o’clock in the morning,” he said.

McCarty said he understood the owner had a marijuana card allowing him to grow a certain number for himself.

Andrews, a 72-year-old longtime firefighter was at the department training this morning and seemed fine, according to Underdahl, not even complaining of any hearing loss.

The chief called Andrews a tough guy and a valuable asset.

“We still don’t know what that was; it was huge and he took the whole brunt of it,” Underdahl said. “He’s a tough guy.”

Crates were stacked upon crate inside a motor home near Centralia.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Authorities yesterday seized 38 dogs living in filthy conditions inside a motor home with a Centralia man.

Forty-nine-year-old Jimmie R. Jemison was arrested, but not booked into jail because of a medical condition, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

The visit yesterday afternoon to property on the 1600 block of Little Hanaford Road followed a tip at the end of April that Jemison was breeding puppies in unsanitary conditions, according to the sheriff’s office.

Photographs shared by the sheriff’s office show numerous portable kennels, some stacked on top of each other inside the roughly 30-foot long recreational vehicle.

“The animals were sleeping and eating in their own feces,” Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

Seventeen puppies and 21 adult dogs were taken to the Lewis County Animal Shelter where they are under observation, being treated for dehydration and other ailments, according to Brown. She described them as various types including Boxer, Daschund, Chihuahua, Basset and mixed breed.

Numerous other animals on the property were living in clean cages and spaces and were left behind, including seven dogs, a goat, quail, chickens and about a dozen pet rats, according to the sheriff’s office.

“His brother lives nearby and is going to take care of them,” Brown said.

Lewis County does not require permits or licenses for dog breeders, but an ordinance outlines certain requirements for anyone with more than 10 dogs such as providing enclosures with enough space for each animal to turn about freely, stand, sit and lie down. And the housing must be kept in a sanitary condition, with convenient access to clean food and water.

Brown said they believe Jemison was selling puppies.

The search warrant yesterday was obtained after the county humane officer previously visited Jemison and observed violations of the dog breeding ordinance, according to Brown.

Responders wore protective gear as they did their work beginning about 3 p.m. yesterday. Buckets and garbage cans containing feces were stored outside the motorhome, she said.

Also found were deceased baby possums inside one kennel, according to Brown. She said she didn’t know why Jemison was keeping possums or how they died.

Deputies and personnel with code enforcement from the county health department were joined by the state veterinarian at the scene.

Brown said Jemison has been highly uncooperative during prior visits and ended up getting Tased yesterday, which resulted in one of his own dogs biting him. He was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital but transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle because of what she described as a severe medical condition.

Sheriff Steve Mansfield called it an unfortunate situation all around.

Jemison faces possible charges of second-degree animal cruelty.

Lewis County Code Enforcement Supervisor Bill Teitzel in a prepared statement said sometimes investigations appear to outsiders take too long but they have to follow the law, and Jemison was not cooperative.

“I am proud of the work my staff did in remaining tenacious and rescuing these animals so that they have a better chance in life,” Teitzel stated.

Humane officers, code enforcement personnel and deputies emptied a recreational vehicle of 17 puppies and 21 adult dogs.

New Fire Chief Gregg Peterson, right, talks with Chief Tim Kinder of rural Chehalis’s Lewis County Fire District 6, left, and District 5 firefighters Raymond Smerek and Merlin Correia.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

NAPAVINE – Two months after both the chief and his second-in command resigned, the fire department that protects Napavine and the surrounding area has hired a new leader.

Gregg Peterson, who has served the past six years as the volunteer chief in the Boistfort Valley where he resides, was sworn in last night.

“I consider it an honor to be here working for, actually working for, you guys,” Peterson said to a small group of the department’s firefighters, EMTs and two its three board members.

Peterson, 59, has more than three decades of experience as a professional firefighter behind him. He retired in 2011 from  Valley Regional Fire Authority in South King County.

The father of four now grown children counts 28 years total as a volunteer, much of which came after he joined Lewis County Fire District 13 in 1995 when the family moved to Lewis County.

Lewis County Fire District 5 which serves a population of about 12,000 over a 66-square-mile area south of Chehalis is known for changing chiefs fairly often.

Jamie Guenther, chair of its board of commissioners, said the trio wanted to hire someone who could have broad support.

He told the group assembled last night they pared the five applications they got back down to three candidates. The interviews were conducted by a group of six members of the public, including individuals such as the chair of the school board, a city council member and local business owner, John Sweeny of Ace Hardware, he said.

The vote was unanimous, Guenther said.

“All the people in that room chose Gregg, so I think we can say he’s the people’s chief for District 5,” he said.

Peterson’s first day on the job will be Monday.

Fire Commissioner Lyle Hojem told the gathering the board graded candidates and all three agreed on the committee’s choice.

In contrast with the district’s last chief Eric Linn who was paid $82,000 a year and benefits that totaled more than $19,000, Peterson agreed to an annual salary of only $40,000 a year. It’s  $35,000 during a probationary period, according to Guenther.

Their agreement calls for the chief to work up to 32 hours.

“The current board didn’t hire Eric, a lot of people didn’t like the high wages,” Guenther said while attendees shared ice cream with Peterson and his family.

Peterson said he doesn’t need medical insurance as his wife works, and he gets it through her job. He said they negotiated a deal he thought worked well for the district and for himself.

“I think they’re getting the best bang for their buck,” Peterson said.

His primary goal in the near term is learning how District 5 operates and meeting the people the department serves, he said.

The fire department currently has four full time paid firefighters and 21 volunteers. Their fourth firefighter-EMT Maria Kennedy was hired in mid-April.

Peterson expects he will gradually transition out of the volunteer chief position in Boistfort.

The introduction to the department and swearing in ceremony was planned on short notice, because Peterson wanted to get started away, according to Guenther. The commissioners only met with him the night before.

Ruth Peterson, his wife of 29 years, said she wasn’t entirely surprised her husband came out of retirement after just three years.

Firefighting is his passion, she said.

“He became a volunteer before he was even old enough to drive a car,” she said. “His parents would drive him to car accidents on Highway 18.”

He would go on emergency medical calls, and then head off to school, she said.