Tacoma's Fire Chief and Driver Crash on Their Way to a Blaze
A small house fire on Hood Street led to a collision at Pacific Avenue that cost driver H. M. Packenham his arm and left Chief Lillis with a possible brain injury.
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.
During a fire in a small house at 1014 Hood street at 8 o'clock this morning, Chief Lillis and driver H. M. Packenham of the chief's wagon were injured in a collision with the hose wagon on Ninth and Pacific avenue. Packenham's right arm was amputated at the hospital. Chief Lillis was badly shaken up and there is danger of concussion of the brain. If such is the case the chief may die. Packenham is doing as well as could be expected. The loss by the fire will not exceed $100. Another account: Chief Lillis of the fire department and Mark H. Packenham, driver of the chief's buggy, were dangerously injured this morning while going to a fire. Lillis, it is feared, received severe concussion of the brain. Packenham had an arm broken which had to be amputated. The chief's buggy collided with a hose truck at Tenth and Pacific avenue and the buggy was overturned, throwing Lillis on his head and Packenham on his arm. It is not expected either will die.
“Packenham's right arm was amputated at the hospital. Chief Lillis was badly shaken up and there is danger of concussion of the brain.”
Emergency responders still run the same deadly math: a few seconds saved can turn a routine call into a life-changing wreck. The collision also shows how quickly a minor fire—$100 in loss—could become a public-safety crisis.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.