A 59-year-old Salem man is being held in the Marion County Jail after being arrested in connection with a fire at a Centralia funeral home and burglary of some other Centralia businesses.
Jerald Moon is charged with arson in connection with a fire at the Maxton Rosado Funeral Home as well as two counts of burglary and a single count of criminal damage to property.
Centralia Fire Officials were called to the funeral home around 6:30 Saturday morning when a passerby spotted a fire on an upper second-floor wall and a man on the roof. It is believed Moon first entered the funeral home by breaking a front door window. He was then accused of causing damage as he made his way up to a second-floor window, which he broke out to gain access to the area where the fire started.
Centralia Firemen say they got a quick knockdown on the fire. In addition to the fire damage, there was smoke damage inside the funeral home.
The Centralia Fire Protection District and the Sandoval Firemen were called for mutual aid. The cause of the fire is believed to be electrical, but the exact cause remains under investigation.
The man believed to be responsible was not immediately found. He was arrested after police responded to several business burglaries.
We’ll have further details as they become available.
Firemen work on putting out a small fire on the second-story wall of the Maxton Rosado Funeral Home. Photo by Tim Ferguson.
Centralia City Firemen outside Maxton Rosado Funeral Home. Photo by Tim Ferguson.
