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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1876 | 16 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1878 | 6 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 11 |
| 1884 | 5 |
| 1885 | 10 |
| 1886 | 4 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1888 | 8 |
| 1889 | 15 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 10 |
| 1892 | 35 |
| 1893 | 32 |
| 1894 | 26 |
| 1895 | 28 |
| 1898 | 3 |
| 1899 | 8 |
| 1903 | 10 |
| 1904 | 7 |
| 1908 | 3 |
| 1909 | 11 |
| 1910 | 2 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 3 |
| 1915 | 3 |
| 1916 | 2 |
| 1917 | 2 |
| 1924 | 1 |
| 1928 | 2 |
280 stories matching roof
- Firefighters Trapped Under Collapsing Barn Roof
A dangerous late-night blaze at the stable of E. P. Whittler leaves two firemen severely injured when a windmill crashes through the burning roof.
- The Great Moss Panic of 1878
Seattle's early city council once declared war on rooftop greenery to prevent the city from burning down.
- The Man Who Defended His Roof
An indignant Seattle resident threatens to prosecute a mysterious stranger who attempted to arrest him for working on his roof on a Sunday.
- Scaling the Courthouse Spire
After multiple failed attempts by laborers, a young man scales the courthouse roof to restore the Stars and Stripes to its rightful place.
- The Fire Chief’s Dangerous Close Call
Seattle's fire chief cheated death twice in one night, plunging through a burning saloon’s skylight while fighting a blaze on the waterfront.
- Ten Inmates Crawl Through City Jail Roof
A dozen prisoners rip the roof off the city jail, leading to a night of escapes, returns for more whiskey, and public mockery of the facility.
- The Great Seattle Tent-Roof Controversy
Facing a winter housing shortage, Seattle officials were forced to choose between strict fire safety codes and allowing residents to shelter themselves under makeshift canvas roofs.
- A Daring Jailbreak in Prosser
A robbery suspect awaiting trial in Kennewick makes a brazen roof-top escape from the Prosser jail while ostensibly doing his laundry.
- A Fatal Fall for a Tacoma Fireman
A member of Native Hose Company No. 1 dies after falling from a wet, slick roof while responding to a call.
- The Fatal Climb for the Church Bells
A local carpenter attempted to scale a church steeple to settle a debate about height, meeting a tragic end in full view of the town.
- A Close Call on Washington Street
A carpenter’s spilled lamp sets a roof ablaze, only for an alert officer to stop the fire with a well-aimed kick.
- The Off-Duty Hero of West Street
A morning commute turns into a rescue as a local fireman spots a blaze in a neighbor’s roof and leaps into action.
- Street Improvement Disaster in Tacoma
A routine effort to clear stumps for new streets ends in a 250-pound boulder tearing through a family’s roof.
- The Great Seattle Freeze-Up
After twelve straight days of record-breaking snowfall, Seattle residents finally see a reprieve as roofs collapse and city transit grinds to a halt.
- Violent Windstorm Shreds Walla Walla County Infrastructure
A sudden, shifting gale rips roofs from elevators and destroys miles of railroad sand fencing across the valley.
- The 1891 Building Laws That Shaped Seattle
A deep dive into the rigid safety mandates—from fire-proof walls to mandatory fire escapes—that dictated the construction of Seattle’s early downtown.
- The Tinderbox Downtown
A small chimney fire at a local tin shop narrowly avoids tragedy, sparking a community call to clear flammable debris from Seattle's rooftops.
- The Perils of Rooftop Baseball Fans
When an amateur bleacher made of nailed cleats gave way, two men plummeted twenty-five feet to the sidewalk, triggering a panic among hundreds of spectators clinging to city infrastructure.
- The Great April Snowstorm of 1885
A record-breaking blizzard buries Seattle, collapsing roofs across the territory and disrupting the spring thaw.
- The Tragedy of Mine No. 4
A longtime coal miner is crushed by a sudden roof collapse in Newcastle, leaving behind a family and a history of loss.
- Nightmare at the Notion Store
A shopkeeper narrowly escapes his building as a pre-dawn blaze tears through a landmark business in Walla Walla.
- Fire Destroys Port Townsend’s Marine Hospital
A defect in a flue triggers a blaze that consumes the upper floor and roof of the government hospital, forcing the evacuation of eighteen patients.
- A Wet Rope, a Live Wire, and a Boy on a Bricklaying Crew
Reed Crews was coming down from a tin roof when a wet rope touched a power line. The accident left him dying and exposed the everyday lethality of 1909 work.
- A Miraculous Escape from a Shattered Skylight
A 75-pound icicle crashed through a tailor shop roof, missing workers by inches.
- A Spark on the Roof: Fire at Rothschild & Co. Spurs a Petition Against Fireworks
Quick action saved a downtown Port Townsend store from burning, and the close call prompted residents to demand a ban on fireworks within town limits.