Gasoline in the Second-Hand Store
A fire at the Great Western second-hand store on South Third Street was ruled incendiary after two fire chiefs detected gasoline; the stock carried $3,000 in insurance.
The insurance on the stock in the Great Western second-hand store, 114 South Third Street, which was damaged by fire yesterday morning, was $3,000. Chief Hunt is satisfied that the fire was the work of an incendiary, and Chief Willard, who was at the store yesterday morning, said he had no trouble in detecting the odor of gasoline.
“Chief Willard ... said he had no trouble in detecting the odor of gasoline.”
Arson-for-insurance cases still occupy Seattle fire investigators, though the tools are now accelerant dogs and lab tests rather than a chief's nose. The story also shows how quickly a small commercial fire became a suspected crime in a city built largely of wood.
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