The Typhoon's Close Call
A delayed response from the fire department leaves a steamer gutted by fire in the Hoquiam River.
Last Saturday evening, fire broke out on the steamer Typhoon while she was lying in the Hoquiam River at the wood yard below the mill. No one was on board at the time. The fire department, on account of the frequency of the false alarms recently turned in, was not prompt in responding, and could not get any water when they did appear. The fire was well under way when the buckets and hose of the small boy brigade got it under control. All the light wood work of the steamer was destroyed, but the hull and machinery are intact. It is estimated that $1,500 will put her in shape, and she will be on her old route before ten days are over. There was no insurance on her.
“The fire department, on account of the frequency of the false alarms recently turned in, was not prompt in responding.”
Fire was an existential threat to early Aberdeen, where the local economy and transportation relied on wooden steamers. This story highlights the precariousness of local infrastructure and the recurring tension between public service response times and private industrial risk.
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