A City Hotel Fire Mysteriously Ignites
A blaze in the heart of Snohomish threatens the city center, sparking theories about Halloween pranksters.
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 fire broke out at 5:30 a.m. in the kitchen of the City Hotel on the east side of First Street in Snohomish. While the fire department failed to turn out in time, residents quickly organized to douse the flames. The fire, which caused $300 in damage, is being investigated as mysterious, with locals suggesting that a band of youths celebrating Halloween may have been responsible.
“It is thought the Halloween pranks of a band of youths had something to do with the origin of the fire.”
The vulnerability of timber-built cities to fire was a constant anxiety in Pacific Northwest settlements. This story captures the intersection of early civic infrastructure—a slow fire department—and the enduring tradition of youth mischief, which remains a standard concern for local police departments today.
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