100 years ago in Spokane: A devastating fire at a major home store drew crowds of spectators

Crowds gathered downtown to watch a terrifying blaze that badly damaged the five-story Tull & Gibbs home furnishings and appliance store.

The fire was discovered at 8:20 p.m., and by the time the fire department arrived, the building was in a “mass of flames.”

It swept up the elevator shaft in the shipping department “and spread the fire on all floors.”

“Members of the fire department furnished thrill after thrill for the crowds watching the blaze, as their 25 lines of hose were put into action,” the Chronicle reported. “… A large hook-and-ladder dashing up to the front of the store furnished the greatest excitement of the evening.”

Several firefighters were overcome by smoke and treated at the emergency hospital. The cause had not been determined.

The loss was estimated at $150,000 and would have been higher except for a firewall that separated the shipping and exchange department – where the fire was most severe – from the general store.

The next morning, the Tull & Gibbs managers said they hoped to reopen within a week. Most of the stock was covered by insurance, and the store had already ordered extensive new shipments of replacement goods.

From the maritime beat: The good ship Spokane was no more. The merchant steamer formerly named Spokane had been renamed the Admiral Rodgers.

Why? Because the ship was on the Admiral Line of the Pacific Steamship Company, and the company had decided to name every ship – in the sardonic words of the Chronicle – “after some great admiral.”

The ship had been operating out of Seattle for many years, mostly on the Alaska run.