Firefighters Stymied by Faulty Hydrant as Neighborhood Barns Burn
A faulty water supply on South Eighth Street delayed fire crews, leading to the destruction of three barns and a woodshed.
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.
Three barns and a woodshed in South Eighth Street between Alder and Poplar were burned to the ground yesterday afternoon at 5 o'clock. The barns were the property of Frank Ogilvie, Mrs. Mary Dwyer, and George McManamon, and the loss is estimated at $750. The blaze is supposed to have originated from children playing with matches, but this could not be verified. The first residents of that section knew of the fire was when fierce flames shot out of the McManamon barn. The fire department made a good run, but a rusty hydrant at Eighth and Poplar refused to work, and it was necessary to plant the steamer at Fifth and Poplar, causing considerable delay in getting water on the blaze.
“The fire department made a good run, but a rusty hydrant at Eighth and Poplar refused to work.”
This incident highlights the perennial frustration of civic infrastructure failing exactly when it is needed most. While Walla Walla’s fire response is vastly improved today, the vulnerability of the residential South Eighth Street corridor to fire remains a reminder of the city's early wooden-frame architectural heritage.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.