Research the archive
Narrow 22,457 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 |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1883 | 4 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1886 | 4 |
| 1887 | 4 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 7 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 17 |
| 1893 | 17 |
| 1894 | 23 |
| 1895 | 1 |
| 1899 | 2 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 6 |
| 1909 | 8 |
| 1916 | 1 |
| 1917 | 1 |
115 stories matching fireman
- The Torch That Saved the Train: How a Fireman’s Light Scared Off Bandits in South Tacoma
In a dark stretch of rail near Lakeview, engineer H.W. Burke faced down armed robbers until his fireman charged them with nothing but a lit torch.
- Tragedy at the Blind Culvert
A locomotive fireman dies after a train plunges into a washout during the Great Flood of 1892.
- The Haunted Steamer: A Maritime Labor Standoff
When the steamer Premier broke a propeller blade, her superstitious crew blamed a 'hoodoo' fireman—sparking a strike and an emergency standoff on the Puget Sound.
- Railroad Disaster and Drowned Fireman in the Skagit Flood
A catastrophic flood in the Skagit Valley leads to two consecutive train wrecks and the death of fireman Ed Cole, leaving his young family behind.
- Fireman Killed in Collision Between Hose Wagon and Streetcar
Dan Noonan, a veteran relief fireman, dies after a tragic collision on the steep Twenty-third street hill.
- The Deadly Hum of the Electric Current
A routine building fire in downtown Seattle turns into a terrifying, lethal brush with the new technology of electricity.
- Tragedy on the Yakima River Line
A Northern Pacific train derails near Bristol, claiming the lives of a Tacoma engineer and fireman.
- A Boiler Explosion Near Mukilteo Kills Two Railroad Men
The Great Northern’s southbound “Owl” wrecked when its locomotive boiler burst, throwing the engineer into Puget Sound and leaving the fireman missing.
- The Fireman Who Accused His Commissioner—Then Sued the City
Oswald R. Vitzthum says Seattle owes him years of pay and that he was never legally discharged after accusing a former fire commissioner of taking money for jobs.
- The Council’s Cold Shoulder to South Tacoma
A fiery exchange in the Tacoma City Council reveals deep tensions over public safety resources in the South Tacoma district.
- Fatal Accidental Shooting at Friday Harbor
A fireman aboard the revenue cutter 'Grant' dies after a gun mishandled by a shipmate discharges.
- 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.
- Under Fire on the Way to Spokane: Seattle's Militia Rode Into a Rail War
Col. Joseph Green's detachment returns from Spokane after escorting a mutinied company through burned bridges, ambushes and striker country—and the city turns out to cheer.
- Horror on the Great Northern Rails
A head-on collision near Edwall leaves two trainmen dead and locomotives in flames, marking a deadly period for the railroad expansion.
- Tragedy for the Portland Elks
An excursion train bound for an Olympia picnic plunges into a ditch near Chehalis, leaving many dead and injured.
- A Boiler Explosion on the Steamer Monticello
A fireman is fighting for his life after a high-pressure steam pipe failed mid-voyage near Kingston, marking the second such accident for the vessel.
- A Switch Thrown in the Dark: The Plot to Wreck the Portland Train
Someone opened a Northern Pacific switch on a waterfront trestle just before the night express from Seattle came through — and a quick-thinking crew stopped a hundred passengers short of the deep water.
- Ending the Corporate Bias Against Married Workers
A new state law finally forces employers to pay damages to the families of single men killed on the job, ending a decade of discriminatory hiring practices.
- The Deadly Silence of the Mill
A young fireman is killed instantly when a mill boiler explodes, leaving the community to wonder how his body was thrust beneath the furnace.
- Tragedy Strikes the Monticello
A fireman dies following a boiler explosion, sparking questions about the safety of marine engine design on Puget Sound.
- A Dispatcher's 'Lap Order' Sent Two Freight Trains Head-On Near Orting
A single mistake on a foggy single-track line killed engineer Louis U. Harmon and critically injured fireman Edward F. Martin—and left the dispatcher waiting helplessly for the crash.
- 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 Narrow Escape Near Prosser
An open switch sends a passenger train into a ditch, leaving the fireman trapped beneath a mountain of coal.
- The Monroe Wreck: Two Railway Men Perish in Midnight Crash
A westbound Great Northern overland train slams into a siding near Monroe, claiming the lives of a head brakeman and a fireman.
- City Bids Farewell to Fireman Killed in Line of Duty
Police and fire departments honor Dan Noonan, who died after a collision between a hose wagon and a streetcar in South Tacoma.