Ballard Mill Fire Sparks Legal Battle with Great Northern Railway
Insurance companies have filed suit against the Great Northern Railway, alleging a passing locomotive started a massive fire that destroyed the Fleming-Ayerst mill.
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Suit has been brought in the United States circuit court by several insurance companies to recover $13,000 in damages from the Great Northern Railway Company. The companies issued policies on the lumber and shingle mill of the Fleming-Ayerst Company in Ballard, which burned down on June 28. The complaint alleges that the fire originated from sparks emitted by a passing locomotive. The value of the property destroyed is estimated at over $41,000, and fourteen different insurance companies are involved in the dispute over the liability for the blaze.
“The complaint alleges that the value of the property consumed amounted to $41,406.”
The industrial fires of Ballard defined the district's early economy and landscape. Today, the legacy of that era is found in the constant push-and-pull between large transport infrastructure—railways and freight—and the residential development that has since overtaken the mill sites.
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