A Dangerous New Year's Prank
Drunken revelers lure firefighters to a ghost blaze, nearly wrecking the department's equipment in the chaos.
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.
A New Year's joke that came near ending seriously was perpetrated at 12:20 o'clock this morning on the fire department by two drunken men, who made illegal use of the telephone in the Deicho saloon. After these men had cursed the members of the department over the wire, they directed them to Front and Yesler, where they stated a fire had started. The department responded, and in turning the corner at Front and Cherry, the hose wagon from headquarters came within a hair's breadth of overturning. Chief A. H. Hunt considers the matter of sending in a false alarm deliberately a serious matter, and it is very probable that an official investigation will be begun.
“The department responded, and in turning the corner at Front and Cherry the hose wagon from headquarters came within a hair's breadth of overturning.”
False alarms remain a persistent drain on public safety resources, though modern dispatchers are better equipped to verify reports. The intersection of Front and Yesler (now 1st Avenue and Yesler Way) is at the heart of Pioneer Square, the oldest part of Seattle, where the city's early fire response struggles were constant.
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