The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-03-22
4 DISASTROUS FIRE.
The Stetson + Post Block Is
Swept Away.
HOW THE FIRE ORIGINATED.


So Hmsorn0<s--9<e0esn na H.
esdests-
The most serious canGserssson that has
visited seattle since the great IRE OF June 9
oer54rred last night The stetson X Po1s
building. . wooden strnetuse tso stores
high, covering the ersire block bounded
~ Commercial. King and Weller
streets. and the alley on the
west. was completely destroyed by fire BE-
sween the hours 81 9 and II The total loss
Il fso.0o. and the insurance si5.a1
AZ $50 O'Clock Daniel Kelly. nighs
wafehman for the Columbia 4 Pnges
sound EailTosd Company, diseos-
cred smoke issuing from the rood
Of the building near the ssrsfeid
restaurant He rushed around TO
the front Of the building and notified ths
occupants Of the restaurant, and then to
che Mechanics Exchange saloon, from
which place an alarm was turned In By
William J. Lsnahan. from box u.
The whole fire department was al The
scene OF the fire inside Of five minutes, and
the work Of fighting the flames. which had
by this tire gained considerable Roadway,
began.
Hose cart No. reached the fire first. and
attached two lines Of hose TO the plug at
The corner OF King and Commercial streets
No. 2 engine arrived Immediately After and
o11aehed - the same plug. and In very
lev minutes three streams were on the
blaze, No. hose cart. arriving from
North beatsie. attached To the plug
on the corner OF Main and Com
nierciai. and ran line Of hose
To the lire. throwing The iourtls stream of
water. No. lis engine and hose cart were
% the scese early. but IL was some time
before they succeeded IN getting water.
They finally attached 10 the plug at the
corner OF Weller and Commercial. The
chemical engine followed No. | and put
Two streams on and did effective work.
ct one time, aside from those OF the chemi-
cal engine.
The fremen played two streams through
the front Of the building for twenty min
utss, but the efforts 10 drown the flames
we're Of no avail. and they steadily gained
in the rear OF the building. and broke out
in large sheets near the roof.
Chief Kellogg then directed the men to
run line around the north end of the
building to thu rear. and sought TO kill the
ire. but II was only partially kept in con-
troll for time. and gradually crept along
the rear 10 the south end OF the building.
eating out the entire upper story despite
the streams pouring in from both sides.
At 10 o'clock there was little hope of saw
ing the building. aud yet the hre had not
reached the lower fiat sufficiently to pre-
vent going into the building. and daring
men went into the upper story and re-
moved two or three trunks from Mrs.
Hasvey's iodginghouse-
The chemical engine played ON the front
Tor long time and then shifted around TO
the rear OF the south end, where streams
were played until 1918. when il stopped
work. fearing the explosion OF fifteen cans
Of coal oil stored on tho rear veranda-
At 1870 o'clock IL was certain that the
Was TO confine il 10 the stetson a. Post
block and prevent the flames from catch
ing the adjoining buildings and commani-
eating with the large lumber piles within
twenty live feet OF the block. The lumber
Was valued at 80 .0m. Beside this was the
company mill directly In the rear. valued
at SIS. 600 and surrounding property worth
1T least $4,000. should the flames have
caught in these quarters the loss would
have been an extremely serious one.
At 1910 O'Clock. and after the flames
had reached the west end OF the building,
fears were entertained that the sparks and
extreme heat would communicate with the
European hotel and saloon, on the south
east corner Of Weller and Commercial
streets. IL became evident that another
stream wss absolutely necessary. and there
being IN unused plug In front Of the sa-
loon. an extra line OF hose Was manned.
under the direction OF Assistant Chief
Bassler. and attached. It was quickly
dragged across the street by q number of
young men, and the water turned on.
The stream Was first directed to the sec
end floor, over Stesson a Posts Office,
where the flames had broken through the
roof and side. and was burning with fresh
impetus. owing to the bursting OF the ten
gallon cans of oil
rhe heat AT this junctufe was terrific, so
much 50 that . small pile Of lumber on the
opposite side of the roadway began 20
smoke. This drove the crowd back, and Mt
the same time the hose was moved 10 the
rear and played on the flames from better
point OF vantage.
Al this lunrtssre IL was feared that the
IRE would communicate 10 the row OF
buildings en- the east side OF Commercial
street. and Chief Kellogg ordered the oceti-
pants out of them. The fronts were badly
seorehcd in places. AMI smoke was seen
coming from the roofs. The application OF
few buckets OF water at times by the oc-
eupanss however. prevented them from
taking fire,
The cause of the Gre Is not known, bat Il
IL believed 10 have started in
one of the rooms in Mrs. Harvey 5
lodginghouse. Some said the tire
caught under the bed, and had been the
act Of an ineendlsry. One o; tie occu.
pants said The Ere was due 10 a defective
stove-mpe in the rear ot the sarsfesd
eoffce-hense. Ne one could b. found who
could tell accurately how the SIRE started
or how long il had burned before the
alarm vas turned in.
The FIRE was out a. = ~ O'Clock this
morning, aud the ERE department returned
10 headquarters Two plug streams from
engine No. were kep, on Tho ruins. and il
Was understood that they woald remain
shsre anti this morning. The tour walls
al the building stu stand. but the interior
Is completely gass~i The northern pos-
slcn al the sigGetars Is fairly wei preserved
90 The skterieT. eut the southern past i
completely destroyed
SAVING pKopNgrx.
E9erss at recrie 90 ShsA. the HaBgry