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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 32 |
| 1877 | 25 |
| 1878 | 4 |
| 1880 | 12 |
73 stories matching fire
- The Great Fire on Washington Street: A Narrow Escape from Ashes
A blaze in the upper story of a building near Pike Street threatened to consume Seattle’s growing commercial district, but the quick arrival of the fire engine saved the day.
- Fire Sweeps Through Seattle’s Cooperage
A morning inferno destroys fifteen homes, leaving families homeless and rumors of child casualties swirling through the city.
- The Great 'Beer Hall' False Alarm
A late-night fire scare in 1877 Seattle sends the city into a panic, only to reveal how quickly a rumor could mobilize a crowd and expose the city's nerves.
- The Day Seattle’s Firefighters Forgot the Engine
A narrow escape on Mill Street in 1876 reveals how quickly a small fire could consume the wooden city—and how unprepared the new volunteer company was.
- 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.
- A Near-Miss Conflagration in Old Seattle
A pre-dawn fire in a Commercial Street smokehouse nearly levels a city block, sparking a call for urban reform.
- The Struggle for a Fire-Safe City
Early Seattleites grapple with the slow, expensive process of organizing a volunteer fire department to protect a rapidly growing town.
- The Struggle for a Fire-Proof Seattle
In 1876, a local editor warns that Seattle’s reliance on wood-frame architecture is a dangerous gamble for a growing city.
- The Fire Station Obstacle Course
A dangerous delay at the engine house highlights the chaotic state of Seattle’s streets in 1876.
- The Unsung Heroes of the Fire Line
When the flames rose, a small team of steamboat captains rushed into the fray to save Seattle's firefighting equipment, a vital act of civic solidarity in the 1870s.
- The Charred Remains of a Pioneer: A Tragic Fire on Commercial Street
In the early days of Seattle, fire was the city's greatest enemy. On October 6, 1876, a blaze swept through the heart of the business district, claiming the life of a man named Hilder and destroying property near Jamison & Prescott.
- The Great Fire of Seattle: A City in Ashes
As the dust settles on the inferno that consumed the heart of the young settlement, residents face the daunting task of rebuilding from nothing.
- Seattle’s First Fire Company: A Half-Hearted Start in a City That Needs It
In October 1876, Seattle’s citizens are debating the formation of a volunteer fire engine company. While some jeer at their 'small beginnings,' the paper argues that even a half-hearted effort is better than no defense against the city's greatest fear: fire.
- Fire on the High Seas
A stowaway on the bark Lady Lampson, bound for the Pacific Northwest, nearly destroys the ship with a fire and a razor.
- The Tragedy at No. 21 Nixons Street
A Puget Sound trader’s sudden descent into madness leaves a wife dead and himself in his blood on the floor of their attic home.
- The Fire That Never Came: Seattle’s Barely-Staffed Engine Company
In 1878, the city finally bought a hand engine for fire protection, but with only ten men to crew it, officials warned that a real blaze would leave the town helpless.
- The Shell That Survived the Fire: A Seattle Man’s Close Call with a Civil War Artifact
An eccentric local resident discovers a live cannonball in his firewood, leading to a terrifying explosion that sends him tumbling down a hillside.
- The Brick Renaissance: Transforming Seattle’s 'Tinderbox' Downtown
As Seattle began to outgrow its temporary wooden origins, local businessmen pushed to replace fire-prone wooden structures with modern brick blocks, signaling a new era of permanence and civic ambition.
- A Close Call on the Hill
After a devastating nighttime fire in 1877, Seattle residents grapple with the fragility of a wooden city and the lack of basic firefighting infrastructure.
- The Ball That Burned: A Seattle Saloon Mystery
In 1876, a patron at John Brendle’s beer saloon discovered that one of the billiard balls was made of highly flammable material, igniting instantly when pressed against his pipe.
- The Hilltop Inferno: Arson Claims a Seattle Landmark
When the residence of J.P. Robbins burned in 1877, the city’s lack of water infrastructure and public apathy turned a potential save into a total loss.
- The Bitter Feud Over a Burnt Seattle Sawmill
A public legal dispute between two businessmen reveals the high-stakes cost of the 1880 fire that razed a local mill.
- The Great Egyptian Mystery: Seattle’s Firefighters Raise Funds with a Spectacle of Living Slides
At Yesler's Hall this evening, the city gathers not for news or politics, but to watch 'living people dissolve into air' in aid of the volunteer fire department.
- A Father’s Desperate Dash Through the Flames
In Snohomish County, a father saved his three young children from a burning home just as the roof collapsed, leaving the family physically scarred but alive.
- The Centennial Fourth: Seattle's 1876 Celebration
On the eve of the nation's hundredth birthday, Seattle grapples with patriotic fervor, civic fire safety, and a growing political divide.