Centralia Police Chief Carl Nielsen met with reporters Friday March 4 at 1:00 pm at the Riverside Fire Authority Station #2 in the City of Centralia. Chief Nielsen shared the following information with reporters regarding the early morning fire that claimed the lives of three children:
"Good afternoon, my name is Carl Nielsen and I am the Chief of Police for the Centralia Police Department. I will be speaking on behalf of Riverside Fire Authority Chief Mike Kytta and Centralia Schools Superintendent Mark Davalos.
This will be the only press conference scheduled and we do not anticipate releasing any other press releases until the investigation concludes.
At approximately 12:46 am this morning units from the Riverside Fire Authority and Centralia Police Department were dispatched to the report of a house fire in the 900 Block of Ham Hill Road in the City of Centralia.
When units arrived on-scene, they found the house fully engulfed. A female had safely made it outside of the residence, but notified us that her three children were still inside in their upstairs bedrooms. Centralia Police Officer Phil Weismiller and RFA Captain Terry Ternan and Engineer Rick Leboeuf climbed on to the roof and attempted to gain access to the children's bedrooms. Unfortunately the intense heat and flames prevented their heroic efforts from gaining entry.
Officer Weismiller did sustain minor injuries in the incident and he was treated/released and is resting at home. Neither of Captain Ternan nor Engineer Leboeuf sustained injuries.
The fire was ultimately extinguished and unfortunately the three children did not survive. The fire investigation is on-going and the cause of the fire is undetermined at this time. On behalf of Chief Kytta, I would like to thank the members of all of the public safety personnel who responded to assist.
After learning that all three children were students at schools within the Centralia School District, Superintendent Davalos was notified and he and his staff have been working with the schools regarding the tragic loss of their classmates. The mother of the children asked that we not release their names or ages.
The death of any child is significant in any community. The loss of three in a community the size of Centralia is truly a tragedy. I have personally witnessed the outpouring of community support this morning and would ask people to take time out of our always busy schedules to think about the family of the victims of today's tragedy and to make the time to appreciate and love your family members!"
There was a candlelight vigil at 8:00 pm Saturday March 5 in Washington Park which is located downtown at Main and Pearl in the City of Centralia. The vigil was being sponsored by friends of the victims and their family.
Chief Nielsen spoke with Officer Weismiller following the press conference. While he appreciates that people wish to recognize him for his actions during this incident, he declined being interviewed. Officer Weismiller asked instead that people focus their thoughts on the grieving family.