Explosion Rocks Rooming House on Pacific Avenue
A defective chimney sparks a blaze in a three-story rooming house, leading to a mysterious explosion that shook the entire structure.
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.
A defective chimney in a three-story rooming house at 2809 Pacific Avenue caused a dangerous fire at about 7 o'clock this morning. But for the prompt work of the fire department, serious damage might have resulted. The blaze started between the first and second floors. Inmates of the house reported that immediately after the fire began, they felt the building rock as if a heavy charge had exploded in the basement. Plaster fell from the walls, and people were knocked to the floor. No cause for the explosion could be found. Fire houses No. 4 and 2 extinguished the blaze after a hard struggle. The damage will exceed $500.
“Inmates of the house say that immediately after the fire started they felt the building rock as if a heavy charge had exploded in the basement.”
Rooming houses were essential housing for Tacoma's working class a century ago. Today, the loss of these affordable housing options remains a central issue in the city’s ongoing housing crisis, though modern building codes have significantly changed fire safety protocols.
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