A Lamp, a Three-Story Frame, and Two Families in the Street
A predawn fire at Bismarck and Hanks streets in Lake Union leaves the Krieger and Masly families uninsured and out of their belongings.
At about 1 o'clock this morning the firemen had a sharp fight with a hot fire in the three-story frame house owned by R. Petkovits, at the corner of Bismarck and Hanks streets. The fire started on the lower floor, which is occupied by C. H. Krieger's family, and worked its way up the west side of the house to the roof. Mrs. Krieger and their two children escaped from the house with slight injuries. Mr. Krieger lost his eyebrows and Mrs. Krieger's hair was singed. Their household goods were destroyed. In the upper part of the house lived Mr. and Mrs. J. Masly and two children. The racket downstairs awakened Mr. Masly and he managed to get them out of the house with considerable trouble, and the wife and children must almost have died from fright. Neither of the families living in the house had any insurance on their effects. The house was badly damaged; it is worth several thousands. Ex-Chief A. B. Hunt was at the fire working with the firemen. The chief was in command of the men. A lighted lamp was responsible for the fire.
“Neither of the families living in the house had any insurance on their effects.”
Lake Union's frame houses and rooming families are long gone, replaced by glass offices and apartments. The fire's most telling detail is that neither household had insurance—then, as now, a sudden loss could push a family toward homelessness. The corner is a reminder that disaster and housing insecurity have always been tangled in Seattle.
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