Fire Aboard the Steamer Newport, Caught Before It Spread
A defective steam-pipe covering sparked a blaze at the Newport docks that damaged two staterooms and cost crew members their clothes, but the boat left on schedule.
The Steamer Newport, of the Pend d'Oreille River Navigation Company, had a close call to total destruction by fire while lying at the Newport docks Monday morning shortly after arriving from the trip to Cusick. The fire was caused by a defective steam pipe covering. The crew responded quickly to the fire whistle and confined the damage to two staterooms. Several of the employees suffered the loss of clothes and personal effects. The steamer was not put out of commission by the fire and left on time for the regular down-river trip.
“The crew responded quickly to the fire whistle and confined the damage to two staterooms.”
Newport's waterfront was the town's highway and freight hub, so a fire aboard a steamer was a civic emergency, not just a bad morning for the crew. The quick save kept the Pend d'Oreille route running—an early reminder of how much small-town life depended on fragile transportation links.
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