Suspicious Fire at Washington Street Lodging
A suspicious lamp, an unattended bed, and whispers of opium use emerge after a fire in a Pioneer Square lodging house.
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.
Around 1:00 a.m., fire was discovered in room 4 of the European lodging house, 215 Washington Street, run by David Schafovich. Lodgers broke down the door to find the bed on fire. While the damage was light, witnesses reported the smell of 'dope' and suggested someone may have been 'hitting the pipe' in the room, leaving a lamp burning that ignited the bed. Schafovich appeared reluctant to discuss the origin of the fire, though he noted he held insurance.
“One of the fellows who went up with Leydon said he smelled the fumes of 'dope' on entering the building and thought some one must have been 'hitting the pipe' in the room.”
This fire occurred in the heart of the old Skid Road area, highlighting the transient nature of housing and the social stigma attached to the opium dens often blamed for such incidents in 1890s Seattle.
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