A Heroic Act at the Boarding House
A Seattle man risks his life in a daring rescue after a coal oil lamp ignites a residence on Marion Street.
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.
About half past seven o'clock Monday evening, while passing up Marion street, Vitas Schmol noticed a mass of fire in the rear of the residence occupied by Messrs. Jennings and Brooks. As soon as possible he scaled the fence and aroused the inmates of the building by violently ringing the front door bell. He then hastened to the back yard and succeeded in extinguishing the flames, not, however, before burning and bruising his hands very badly. The fire originated from the splashing of a coal oil lamp used in keeping up the temperature in an incubator, in the immediate rear of the residence. But for the timely discovery by Mr. Schmol, and his presence of mind, we would doubtless have been called upon to chronicle another disaster.
“But for the timely discovery by Mr. Schmol, and his presence of mind, we would doubtless have been called upon to chronicle another disaster.”
This incident highlights the precarious nature of boarding house life in 1885 Seattle, where shared living arrangements and primitive heating methods—like coal oil lamps—posed constant fire risks. Today's Seattle struggles with similar fire safety and density issues in aging residential structures, though the modern focus has shifted from incubators to electrical hazards.
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