Research the archive
Narrow 27,002 newspaper stories by words, years, place, newspaper and subject. See when and where they ran, then download what you find.
Put a phrase in quotes ("rent strike") or leave a word out with a minus (strike -baseball). Old scans misspell names, so when little is found, near-spellings are offered.
Refine
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 2 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1876 | 13 |
| 1877 | 12 |
| 1878 | 8 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 3 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 23 |
| 1884 | 5 |
| 1885 | 18 |
| 1886 | 11 |
| 1887 | 9 |
| 1888 | 5 |
| 1889 | 37 |
| 1890 | 6 |
| 1891 | 13 |
| 1892 | 54 |
| 1893 | 56 |
| 1894 | 42 |
| 1895 | 26 |
| 1898 | 3 |
| 1899 | 8 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 11 |
| 1904 | 8 |
| 1908 | 6 |
| 1909 | 25 |
| 1910 | 8 |
| 1914 | 8 |
| 1915 | 10 |
| 1916 | 9 |
| 1917 | 3 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 7 |
460 stories matching flame
- Trapped in the Wreckage
A gas explosion in Spokane turns a bookstore into a furnace, leaving a woman to face her final moments in front of a helpless crowd.
- Skykomish Business District Consumed by Flames
A nighttime fire in a barbershop destroys four local businesses, exposing the town's complete lack of firefighting infrastructure.
- The Narrow Escape of Aberdeen
A pre-dawn fire in a downtown barber shop threatened to raze the young city, but a swift response from the local hose company stopped the flames before they reached the business district.
- Major Business District Blaze in Vancouver
Firefighters battled throughout the night to save the local military reservation as flames consumed business properties.
- Inferno in the Olympics
Citizens gather on Church Hill in Port Angeles to watch a massive timber fire burning in the Olympic Mountains.
- Tragedy on the Tracks: A Night of Horror
A train derailment near Seattle leaves passengers trapped in the wreckage as a fire begins to spread through the cars.
- The Newport Club Burns: A Saloon's Last Call Comes as Smoke
A midnight blaze in 1910 destroys one of Newport's oldest business buildings — the former miners' saloon that went dry after local option — and the owners say they won't rebuild.
- A Burglary and Arson on Tenth Street
A homeowner discovers her house filled with smoke after burglars ransack her residence and leave a lit match on the mantel.
- Heroic Teacher Critically Burned at Rainier School
A beloved educator sustained severe injuries while attempting to prevent a lamp fire during school closing exercises.
- The Mother Who Ran Through Burning Oil
A lamp explosion trapped two boys in a Whatcom kitchen; their mother rushed through flames to save them and was badly burned.
- A Leap from the Flames in Fremont
An elderly resident barely escapes a burning home, underscoring the precarious nature of life in the wooden suburbs of 1890s Seattle.
- Arson Attempt Targets Chinese Business District
A deliberate fire set in the basement of Wah Chong's store nearly triggers a catastrophe for the city's business sector.
- The Dog That Saved a Family from the Flames
A loyal terrier’s frantic barking alerted the occupants of a Seattle home to a midnight fire, saving ten lives when silence would have meant death.
- Tragedy in Fern City: Four Children Perish in Home Blaze
A mother’s brief errand ends in unimaginable loss when her home is consumed by flames, trapping her four young children inside.
- Heroic Bucket Brigade Battles Stanwood Inferno
A devastating fire ravages the business district of Stanwood, leaving the community to fight flames with nothing but ladders and willpower.
- A Wall of Flame Along the Northern Pacific
Wildfires from South Prairie to the Cascades burned Lester's postoffice and homes, threatened snowsheds, and forced railroad crews to fight the flames with locomotives and water.
- A Fire, a Locked Door, and a Daring Escape
A local reverend barely survived the blaze that destroyed his home in Black Diamond by shattering a window to escape the flames.
- The Third Blaze in a Year: Littell & Smythe Factory Ruined
A sash and door mill between Pike and Pine Street is reduced to cinders, the third time the business has caught fire in a single year.
- A Close Call at the Cleaning Shop
Static electricity turns a routine cleaning job into a dangerous fire, destroying a local shop's equipment and wardrobe.
- Bothell Mill Destroyed in Spectacular Blaze
A major shingle and lumber mill goes up in flames, leaving the community with a $75,000 loss.
- The Slaughterhouse Inferno
A mysterious fire at a Seattle-area slaughterhouse leads to a harrowing escape as a man risks his life to release trapped livestock amidst a blaze that threatened the neighboring Union Stockyards.
- Narrow Escape in the Business District
A late-night fire is extinguished in a downtown shoe shop just before it could engulf the surrounding blocks.
- The Cudahy Packing Plant Fire
A catastrophic fire destroys a waterfront warehouse, turning tons of meat into a 'seething mass of flames.'
- A Brothel Fire, a Woman Thrown From a Window, and a Logger Burned to Death
A 5 a.m. blaze in Aberdeen killed one man and fatally injured a woman; a survivor jumped naked through flames to the street.
- Black Diamond No. 12: A Mine Fire, a Sealed Slope, and 100 Men Idle
Fire breaks out in the pump room of Black Diamond's No. 12 mine, forcing superintendent to seal the slope and steam the flames while a hundred miners are thrown out of work.