A False Alarm Reveals Spokane Has No Fire Department

Saturday evening an effort was made to start a fire in a hot-air furnace at the corner of Howard and Main streets, and some explosive material, catching the light from the furnace, filled the air with yellow fire. The excitement that followed the alarm was intense. People grabbed their coats and there was a wild rush from every direction to the point where the light was observed. From a little distance it looked as though some of the frame buildings were in a blaze, and everybody seemed anxious to get there, wondering what they would do when they reached the scene of a conflagration. In less than a minute a large crowd had gathered, and a feeling of thankfulness prevailed that the alarm was without foundation. The alarm was false and should not have been given. Men should be very careful in creating such exhibitions. If they will not refrain from a sense of right and wrong, then it is the duty of the City Council to enact an ordinance making the giving of false alarms punishable by a heavy fine. In looking at the frightened crowd of humanity, many of them worked up into a fever of excitement, we wonder what they would have done in case there had been a fire; probably destroyed more than they would have saved. Further, we were struck with the utter helplessness of the city in case of fire. Without even a well or bucket, there is absolutely not a particle of protection. If the fire started in the frame building nothing under the sun would have prevented the flames from eating their way to the new bank building, and in all probability the entire structure would have gone down before the fiend, notwithstanding there was no wind. This little incident is enough to awaken our people to their exposed condition. In a community where every public enterprise receives the support and aid of the people, it seems to us beyond comprehension why the most important matter has not received more attention. Must we wait until some of the valuable buildings put up this summer, or another huge block in the denser part of the city, are wiped off the face of the earth before the fire department is organized? Do we grow bold waiting for an answer?