Tekoa Business District Destroyed by Incendiary Fire
A fire suspected to be arson wiped out the central business district of Tekoa, resulting in thousands of dollars of damage.
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.
The business portion of the town of Tekoa was destroyed by fire early this morning. The fire was discovered in a barn at 3:15 a.m. and is supposed to be of incendiary origin. The flames quickly spread to a covered stairway in the rear of Snyder & Davidson's tin shop, trapping families above the store who had to be rescued by ladder. The fire consumed a grocery store, a drug store, a hardware store, and multiple other buildings. Thanks to superhuman efforts, the bakery was saved, preventing the total destruction of the town. Total losses are estimated at $65,000. Building has already begun, and the city council has established fire limits.
“Had the water works been completed two days earlier the town have been saved.”
Before modern fire codes and regional firefighting infrastructure, towns built primarily of wood were one spark away from total annihilation. This disaster highlights the extreme vulnerability of boom-era Eastern Washington towns and the rapid cycle of rebuilding that followed such catastrophes.
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