Fremont Mill Saved from Total Destruction
A late-night fire at the Pacific Manufacturing Company plant threatened the suburb of Fremont until local fire crews intervened.
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 fire broke out between 9 and 10 o'clock last night in the Pacific Manufacturing Company's plant at Fremont, making such a glow in the sky that it seemed as though the whole suburb was burning up. Through the prompt action and energetic work of the Fremont hose company, the flames were confined to the sash and door factory. The loss, which would have been total had the whole plant burned, was limited to less than $7,000. The Pacific Manufacturing Company's plant, located on Lake Union, consisted of a main mill with the greater part of the machinery, a sash and door factory building back of the big mill and connected with it by a bridge, a moulding rack, and a drying kiln. Following the alarm, the Fremont fire brigade responded in short order, crediting themselves with getting a stream on in four minutes. While the fire caused significant damage to the structure and inventory, it was successfully prevented from reaching the main mill.
“A fire broke out between 9 and 10 o'clock last night in the Pacific Manufacturing Company's plant at Fremont, making such a glow in the sky that it seemed as though the whole suburb was burning up.”
Fremont in the 1890s was a distinct industrial suburb defined by its mills and Lake Union access. Today, the manufacturing identity has shifted, but the area remains a dense, recognizable hub where the risk of catastrophic fire in wooden industrial structures was a constant civic fear.
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