A $200,000 Inferno Devours Olympia's Wood Pipe Plant
A Saturday evening blaze destroys the National Wood Pipe Company plant, storage yards, four residences, and a grocery store, with losses estimated at $200,000.
Olympia—Fire which broke out at 7 o'clock Saturday evening in the plant of the National Wood Pipe Company completely destroyed the building and storage yards as well as four residences and a grocery store. The loss, which is practically all on the plant of the National Wood Pipe Company, is estimated at $200,000.
“The loss, which is practically all on the plant of the National Wood Pipe Company, is estimated at $200,000.”
Industrial fires were a constant threat in early 20th-century Washington, where wood-frame mills and plants clustered near homes. The 1909 Olympia fire, with its $200,000 loss and displacement of families, echoes modern concerns about industrial safety and the vulnerability of workers' neighborhoods.
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