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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 5 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1863 | 2 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 22 |
| 1877 | 14 |
| 1878 | 12 |
| 1880 | 3 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 20 |
| 1884 | 7 |
| 1885 | 20 |
| 1886 | 14 |
| 1887 | 15 |
| 1888 | 6 |
| 1889 | 33 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 23 |
| 1892 | 65 |
| 1893 | 52 |
| 1894 | 45 |
| 1895 | 28 |
| 1899 | 14 |
| 1900 | 3 |
| 1903 | 19 |
| 1904 | 27 |
| 1908 | 4 |
| 1909 | 14 |
| 1910 | 4 |
| 1911 | 3 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 2 |
| 1915 | 2 |
| 1916 | 11 |
| 1917 | 3 |
| 1919 | 1 |
| 1924 | 2 |
| 1925 | 1 |
509 stories matching alarm
- The Delicate Sensitivity of Seattle’s Fire Alarm
An accidental rock throw reveals how fragile the city's early fire alarm infrastructure truly was.
- The Night a Streetcar Powerhouse Fire Left Half of Seattle Dark
A pre-dawn blaze at Fifth and Pine gutted the Consolidated Street Railway plant, destroyed nearly all its cars and dynamos, crippled three lines, and blacked out everything north of Pike Street.
- Tacoma's Suspicious Fires—and a Fire Department That Couldn't Get Water
A wave of blazes on E Street and beyond leaves homes in ashes, a hose driver suspended, an alarm delayed, and the fire chief convinced tramps set the occupied houses alight.
- Seattle’s Fire Department Answered 197 Alarms in 1893 — Nearly Half Were False
The chief’s annual report counted 98 false alarms, touted small losses, and asked the city for a fire marshal and better alarm wires.
- The Phantom Fire-Starter of Tacoma
A mischievous prankster is repeatedly triggering false fire alarms, exhausting the local department and draining public funds.
- When Wires Crossed: Seattle's Great Electrical Tangle of 1895
A freak accident at 11 p.m. mixed electric light, fire alarm, and telephone lines, cutting off 50 subscribers and burning out equipment across downtown Seattle.
- The Fire Alarm Circuit That Left a Third of Seattle Uncovered
The 1894 fire department report celebrated lower expenses but warned that overloaded alarm circuits could leave a third of the city cut off during repairs.
- A Blockhouse, a Murder, and a Rumor of War
After a killing on the Snohomish, settlers in the Puyallup Valley put their families in a blockhouse. One farmer rode out to look for signs of an uprising—and found none.
- Newport's Fire Alarm Was a Church Bell—Until It Moved
When the Congregational church bell left its old belfry, Newport lost the only way to sound a fire alarm. A telephone company offered a $100 fix.
- A False Alarm Reveals Spokane Has No Fire Department
A burst of flame over Howard and Main sends a crowd running — and the paper demands a fire department before a real blaze eats the business district.
- Olympia's New Council Hands 'Boss' Sickels the Purse Strings
The new city council takes office, gives Boss Sickels the powerful ways-and-means chair, and confronts a railroad-blocked sewer, a fire department asking for more hydrants and alarm boxes, and a thin city treasury.
- The Mischief Makers of Second Street
Seattle's fire department gets a workout from phantom alarms in the Boston Block.
- The Midnight Alarm at Pioneer Place
A construction mishap at the Yesler block causes a spectacular electrical failure and a city-wide false alarm.
- The Great Alarm Debate
Walla Walla’s City Council considers whether to invest in a modern fire alarm system or rely on an improvised network of city telephones.
- 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.
- Troops Take the Yards as Seattle Braces for the Great Railroad Strike
Regular artillery, deputy marshals and a nervous militia dig in across the city — even hauling the state's rifles up to the university for safekeeping — as the 1894 Pullman boycott reaches Puget Sound.
- Thirty-Seven Miners Died 150 Feet From Safety
An 1894 coroner's jury in Franklin, Washington, heard how a small fire in the Oregon Improvement Company's coal mine became a wall of smoke — and why the men who could have escaped stayed to fight it.
- The Eastern Oregon Burned at Percival’s Wharf
A repair crew’s paint store caught fire aboard the steamship Eastern Oregon, forcing men to jump forty feet to the mudflats and killing one cook; the blaze threatened Percival’s Wharf before rain helped firefighters.
- Thirty-Seven Miners Died Because They Stayed to Fight the Fire
A blaze in the Franklin coal mine sent smoke through the gangways on Aug. 24, 1894, killing 37 men and boys who thought they had time to escape.
- The Tragedy of the Hebrew Dramatic Club
A panicked crush at a local performance in Seattle leaves tragedy in its wake as crowds misinterpret an alarm.
- An Alarming Rise in Typhoid Cases
Public alarm grows in Tacoma as local health officials downplay a spike in illness, suggesting citizens boil their water while avoiding any official critique of the city's water supply.
- Walla Walla's Year of Fire
The local fire department reports a record-breaking 104 alarms for the year, including three major blazes that leveled local businesses.
- The Midnight Blaze That Leveled Seattle’s Largest Sawmill
A devastating fire at the Stetson & Post mill in 1885 left 40 men unemployed and destroyed a vital industrial hub, all while a night watchman pointed fingers at a scapegoated worker.
- Seattle’s Fire Chief Outlines Urgent Modernization Plan
Newly appointed Chief J.F. McDermott details the department's struggle with outdated equipment and calls for a complete overhaul of alarm systems and engine house standards.
- The Alarmist Officer
A Seattle patrolman's attempt to slack off duty by pulling a fake fire alarm led to a public scandal and the end of his career.
Also about this, in other words
- The Tin-Can Alarm Clock Prank That Sent a Spokane Sleeper Racing Downtown at 1:30 A.M.
A prominent citizen rigged a string-and-tin-can wake-up call with the night watchman. Local pranksters pulled the string first—and he dressed and ran for a train that wasn't leaving.
- The Great Seattle Water Alarm of 1877
A brief, wry note from the archives captures a moment of civic relief in a fledgling Seattle, highlighting the contrast between the fire-prone state capital and the rain-soaked Emerald City.
- The False Alarm That Almost Set Seattle Afire
When an unfounded panic about an anti-Chinese uprising brought the Governor and the state militia to Seattle, a tense city collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
- The Rising Alarm: Fears of 'Asiatic' Military Might
A 1885 editorial reflects the era's xenophobic anxiety regarding the modernization of Asian military forces and the perceived threat to European colonial dominance.
- Ballard’s War on 'Street Education'
A local councilman proposes a curfew to keep children off the streets, fearing the 'evil habits' they might pick up after dark.
- The Alarm Bells of North Seattle
A look at the logistical challenges of firefighting in 1885 Seattle, where volunteer companies managed city safety via university and church bells.
- The Thunderstorm That Cleared the Air
When panic gripped 1887 Seattle following a series of rumors, a firm stand by the Governor turned local anxiety into a surprising display of civic unity.
- A Late Night Kitchen Intruder
A panicked homeowner summons the fire department and police, believing a burglar is loose in his house—only to find his own servant girl.