The Great Everett Fire Scare of 1909
Eight suspicious fires in one night set the city into a panic, sparking rumors of professional arsonists.
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.
Beginning with last Monday afternoon and continuing throughout the night, Everett was visited with the worst conflagration in her history. Thousands of dollars worth of property were swept away by the flames. It is the widespread belief of citizens that these fires were not accidents but were the result of a deliberate intent by unknown persons to destroy the city. Eight separate alarms were turned in between 3:30 p.m. and midnight. The fire department no sooner had one fire quenched before another broke out at a remote place. The fire with the most pitiful results destroyed the stable of Thorsvig & Miley, burning to death several horses. Many citizens were unsparing in their condemnation of the fire chief, claiming he focused on the fire hall while the county structure was doomed. The work of the regular fire department and volunteers at the Hewitt Avenue fire was heroic, eventually confining the blaze to the area bounded by Rockefeller Avenue and College Lane. Aid arrived from Snohomish and Seattle, the latter summoned by Mayor Jones as a precautionary measure against the unknown firebugs.
“Fire was the great leveler which swept away for the moment all caste and class distinction.”
Everett’s business district has been shaped by massive fires, most notably in 1909. While today we look to modern fire codes and regional cooperation for safety, this article captures the visceral terror of a community believing its very existence was under an orchestrated attack.
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