Dynamite and an Empty Water Tank: Springdale Burns
A noon fire that began in a meat company smokehouse destroyed nearly every store in Springdale, exposing a water system that had been broken for a week.
The business portion of Springdale was completely destroyed by fire Thursday about noon, entailing a loss that will probably reach the $125,000 mark, and of that amount less than one-fifth was covered by insurance.
The fire started in the smoke house of the Stevens County Meat Co. about ten minutes before 12 noon, and in about one and one-half hours from the time the blaze first appeared all that is now burned was in flames.
The fire when discovered could have been placed under control had the water system been efficient, for there were men on the scene an instant after the fire started. The storage reservoir consisted of two small wooden tanks situated on the hill across Sheep Creek, from which the water was obtained by means of a hydraulic ram. For more than a week the system had been out of order and the tanks nearly empty, which they were on this occasion, as the supply did not last over ten minutes, and while it did last the force was so weak that it had no effect on the fire.
The fire was finally stopped by dynamiting a two-story lodging house, which prevented it from crossing the street to the only remaining store in the town. This store, a blacksmith shop and a livery stable are the only business buildings in the town that escaped the fire. Several residences and the town bridge across Sheep Creek were also burned.
The Springdale Reformer building went with the rest, but Editor Burrows will at once resume business, as will several other of the larger business firms. The loss to the town is such that it will take a long time to recover from it, and it is doubtful whether all the businessmen can resume, as the insurance is small in proportion to the loss sustained.
“The fire was finally stopped by dynamiting a two-story lodging house, which prevented it from crossing the street to the only remaining store in the town.”
Springdale's 1908 fire is a reminder that small-town business districts can vanish in an hour when basic infrastructure fails. The town rebuilt, but the story echoes modern debates over rural fire protection, water systems, and the thin margins of small business.
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