The Stencil Building's Lucky Streak
For the third time in its history, a furnace mishap threatens to destroy the Stencil building at Main and Third.
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.
For the third time in its history the Stencil building at Main and Third has narrowly escaped destruction by fire. Dense clouds of smoke sifting up through the floors of the building roused lodgers at an early hour this morning and nearly caused a panic. The fire department responded to a 'hurry-up' alarm and found a fierce blaze attacking the walls in the basement. The blaze started in some old sacks near the furnace when a man cleaning the furnace dropped sparks on them. A douse of 'fluid' extinguished the flames, but it was a half hour before the smoke cleared. Three years ago the building was badly damaged by fire, and months later, another basement fire occurred. A month ago, a rubbish box behind the building was also discovered on fire.
“For the third time in its history the Stencil building at Main and Third has narrowly escaped destruction by fire.”
Buildings with recurring fire hazards were a common peril in early 1900s downtowns. The Stencil building served as a dense, mixed-use structure, and its 'lucky' escapes were often the result of poor maintenance rather than divine intervention.
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