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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 6 |
| 1892 | 1 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1894 | 4 |
| 1895 | 3 |
16 stories matching combust
- A Mine Fire That Might Never Be Put Out
Black Diamond Mine No. 12 faced possible permanent abandonment after a fire underground, with flooding and spontaneous combustion complicating recovery.
- The Iron Shed Rebellion
After the Great Seattle Fire, one man defies new building codes by erecting corrugated iron structures in the fire-restricted zone, triggering a city-wide showdown over safety and property rights.
- The City Stops the Build: Seattle's 1889 Fight Over 'Fireproof' Tent-Frames
When D.K. Baxter tried to erect three structures made of pipe frames and canvas on Yesler Avenue, the city inspector shut him down, triggering a tense legal stand-off over what constitutes a safe building.
- The City Council’s War on Inflammable Storage
New regulations restricted the storage of petroleum, naphtha, and gasoline, mandating fireproof construction and buffer zones from the waterfront.
- The Oil That Could Burn the City: Seattle’s First Major Fire Safety Law
In a move to prevent catastrophic blazes, the Common Council passes strict new rules for storing gasoline and kerosene, forcing merchants to build brick vaults or face heavy fines.
- The Oil Trap: How Seattle’s Greed Endangered Its Own Waterfront
A recent fire at a lodging house reveals a city-wide crisis: warehouses and homes alike are storing thousands of gallons of volatile oil, defying insurance limits and risking total destruction.
- The Great Fire at Schwabacher Bros.
A massive blaze destroys a landmark wholesale house in downtown Seattle, shaking the foundations of Pioneer Square.
- An Ellensburg Merchant's Stock Goes Up in Smoke
A mysterious blaze gutted E. K. Fugarty's mercantile store, destroying one of Central Washington's finest stocks and leaving a heavy, still-uncalculated loss.
- The Fire That Never Was: How Seattle’s Insurance Panic Saved the City
When two insurance executives declared Seattle a 'death trap' of combustible trash, they triggered a civic cleanup that lowered premiums and saved countless buildings from the flames that had already destroyed much of the city.
- The Messenger Burned at Tacoma—and It Was No Accident
A pioneer Puget Sound steamer was destroyed by a suspected arson fire; its engineer nearly chose a razor over burning alive.
- Old Buck Delivers a Knockout Blow
A saloon owner on Railroad Avenue disarms an armed intruder after a night of crime in Seattle.
- The Franklin Mine Fire: Thirty-Seven Dead, Not a Scratch on Them
A fire in breast sixty-two traps miners between flame and return airway; bodies are laid in rows as Seattle sends a special train.
- A Powerhouse Fire Couldn't Keep Seattle's Streetcars Down for Long
Flames destroyed the Consolidated Street Railway's power house and dozens of cars before dawn, but borrowed dynamos and quick repairs had the lines running again by morning.
- The Oil Men’s Last Stand: Seattle’s Battle Over Fire Safety and Corporate Power
In March 1889, a proposed ordinance to ban oil storage within city limits sparked a fierce standoff between the Board of Trade and powerful petroleum interests. While the city pushed for safety, the oil dealers argued the rules were discriminatory and economically impossible, setting the stage for a legal battle that would define Seattle’s industrial future.
- Nineteen Buildings Gone Before Breakfast
With no fire department and only buckets, the Kitsap County seat of Sidney watched its entire business district burn to the ground in three hours — then promised to rebuild as Seattle had.
- When Seattle Was Coal Country
A detailed 1895 survey shows King County leading Washington's coal output, with Seattle shipping fuel to California, Oregon, and the Midwest—while labor troubles and spontaneous mine fires shadowed the boom.