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 story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
E. P. Whittler's stable at the corner of Depot and Pontius streets was partially destroyed by fire last night between the hours of 11 and 12 o'clock, and Capt. A. B. Hunt, of Engine Company No. 1, and Jack Farr, of the same company, were seriously injured by the fall of the roof. How or where the fire started is a mystery. Some of the neighbors saw the blaze shooting from the roof and aroused George Elms, the coachman, who was sleeping. He had time to put on his trousers and escape from the building before the fire had gotten great headway. Mr. Whittler was aroused and a telephone alarm sent in. The roof of the building burned rapidly and the northwest corner had partly fallen in when Capt. Hunt and Jack Farr came up the stairs inside the building and stood where the roof had been burned away. While they were getting the hose line ready, the windmill, which was built on the roof, fell with a crash and imprisoned Capt. Hunt on the floor, while Farr was knocked down the stairs and pinned to the wall. Edwin Corfee, of chemical No. 1, rescued Hunt and carried him from the building. Dr. Morse Stewart examined Farr; his principal injury is to the small of the back. Capt. Hunt was cut about the head and his left hip seems to be badly bruised. Chief Kellogg took charge of the fire, and although there is no positive proof, it is believed the fire was the work of an incendiary.
“While they were getting the hose line ready, the windmill, which was built on the roof, fell with a crash and imprisoned Capt. Hunt on the floor.”
The intersection of Depot and Pontius streets in Seattle has long been transformed by the city's growth, but the danger of fighting fires in aging, crowded wooden structures remains a constant reality for the department. This account offers a harrowing look at the physical toll of 19th-century firefighting before modern safety codes and steel construction.
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