A Child’s Hazard in a Smoky City
A young girl is severely burned after stepping into a smoldering coal bunker in Belltown, highlighting the dangerous urban conditions of a rapidly growing Seattle.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A little girl in Belltown was running around barefoot near the old coal bunkers. She accidentally stepped with both feet into a large hole, which was full of smoldering coal that had caught on fire during the conflagration in that vicinity a few days ago. The little thing was fearfully burned. She was taken home, where her wounds were dressed and she is doing as well as possible under the circumstances.
“She accidentally stepped with both feet into a large hole, which was full of smoldering coal... and the little thing was fearfully burned.”
This incident captures the rugged, hazardous nature of 19th-century Seattle, where industrial remnants like coal bunkers and fire aftermaths posed constant threats to residents. Today's Seattle faces different risks, yet the story of a child injured by forgotten industrial sites continues to echo in modern concerns over environmental remediation and urban safety in densifying neighborhoods.
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