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82 stories matching firefight
- A Wall of Flame at Newport's Doorstep
Wind-driven fires jump trenches in the Pend Oreille timber country, threatening Scott's Addition and costing ranchers and mills thousands in cordwood and logs.
- Seattle Firefighters Battle Political Interference
Thirty-two members of the fire department sign a memorial protesting the threat of a new, politically motivated chief.
- Firefighters battle blaze in the ruins of the old McMaster mill
A fire sparked by a passing engine ignited the long-abandoned McMaster's mill wharf, forcing firefighters to wade through shallow mud flats to save the structure.
- The Great Seattle Fire Tournament: A Spectacle of Steam and Sweat
As the city prepares for a historic gathering of fire companies from across the Northwest, the rules are set, the hydrants are tested, and the stakes are high.
- Firefighters Save Montesano from Total Destruction
A catastrophic fire nearly leveled the town's business district before new water mains were put to the ultimate test.
- 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.
- A Fire Started in a Brothel. It Took Centralia's Opera House and Newspaper.
A blaze behind a Tower Avenue saloon jumped to the Binkley opera house and the Daily News office, gutting a commercial block despite heavy rain and a fierce firefight.
- The Waterfront Fire That Outpaced the Firefighters
A historic Seattle row of buildings is gutted by fire as a mismanaged department struggles to contain the flames.
- A Near Disaster on the Waterfront
A fire in a Front Street lunch counter nearly consumes the business district after city officials neglected to enforce fire safety ordinances.
- Firefighters Helpless as Hydrant Fails
A major blaze destroys a local mattress factory and blacksmith shop as faulty infrastructure prevents emergency response.
- Four Sections Burn Along the Pend Oreille
A week-long blaze near Ruby Creek is finally checked, leaving ranchers, timber and a county bridge in ashes—and one firefighter carried ten miles to safety.
- 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.
- Walla Walla Devastated by Lower Main Street Blaze
A massive fire wipes out a half-block of wooden buildings, revealing the city's total lack of adequate firefighting equipment.
- Leavenworth's Flaming Cycle
For the third time in seven years, a massive fire tears through Leavenworth's business district, leaving town leaders to grapple with a lack of water, no fire department, and the question of how to rebuild from nothing.
- Ladders to the Rescue: Spokane's Crescent Block Burns
A pre-dawn fire guts a three-story brick building, trapping lodgers until firefighters raise ladders to the windows.
- Rain Stops the Great Pend Oreille Fire After a Firefighter Is Killed
More than a hundred men cut fire lines from Tacoma Creek to Little Pend Oreille lakes as flames threaten Sandpoint and destroy tens of millions of feet of timber.
- The City Hall That Wasn't: Seattle's 1882 Fire Engine Obsession
When faced with a choice between a new municipal center and a state-of-the-art steam fire engine, Seattle citizens chose the engine—prioritizing immediate safety over civic expansion.
- The Blundering Firefighters of Pioneer Square
A satirical look at a day when a local livery stable fire turned into a slapstick comedy of errors for Seattle's volunteer hook and ladder company.
- Firefighters Battle Freezing Hose at 1893 Blaze
When an arctic blast hit Seattle, firemen responding to a blaze returned to their stations as living statues of ice.
- The Deadly Alley Between Cherry and James
Fire Chief A.B. Hunt races to protect Seattle firefighters from electrocution in the city's most hazardous alleys.
- A Near-Fatal Boarding House Fire on Fourth Avenue
A fire sparked by a kerosene lamp trapped a barber in a flimsy boarding house, triggering a dramatic rescue by Seattle firefighters.
- The City’s Forgotten Protectors
While Everett boasted the best fire record in Washington, its firefighters were the worst-paid in the state and lived nearly as slaves under a grueling 21-hour-a-day duty cycle.
- The Blazing Omaha Lodging House
A fire breaks out in a South Main Street boarding house, leaving residents to flee as firefighters narrowly prevent the flames from spreading to nearby structures.
- The Peril of Volunteer Firefighters in 1889 Seattle
As the city rapidly expands, the fire chief warns that an unpaid, disorganized volunteer force leaves Seattle’s growing wooden skyline at the mercy of every spark.
- Olympia's Volunteer Firefighters Warn the City: We Are One Blaze Away From Disaster
In 1891, the city's three fire companies pushed to reorganize as a single department, citing a 25-year-old hand engine, unfurnished sleeping quarters, and waterfront shacks that could turn a small fire into a catastrophe.
Also about this, in other words
- The Arcade Saloon Melee
A morning brawl involving the 'John Bull Combination' spills out of the Arcade Saloon and into the street.
- Midnight Gunfight at the Warehouse
A watchman defends a local business in a late-night shootout with burglars.
- The Night Watchman's Duel: Officer Thorndike Wrestles Pistol from Drunkard in Seattle Jail
A violent struggle inside the local jail cell block leaves an officer battered but victorious after a prisoner attempts to shoot his way out.
- The Fireboat Battle of Elliott Bay
A power struggle between a fire captain and a marine pilot boils over into a violent, axe-wielding confrontation on the deck of a city fireboat.
- The Neighborhood Duel on Front and Bell
A simmering dispute over a horse stabled in a North Seattle basement erupts into a confrontation involving boiling water and a revolver.
- Fireboat Battles Blazing Mill on the Tide Flats
McMaster's shingle mill, a sprawling wharf-side structure, is lost to a massive fire as the city's fireboat struggles to maneuver through a congested waterway.
- The Deadly Feud in Palouse
A long-standing domestic conflict culminates in a fatal confrontation in the street.
- A Furniture Store Fisticuff
A social slight between families led to a curse-filled brawl inside a Second Street furniture shop.