Historical Note
A Fire Department was established by City Charter in 1883. It provided
for equipment purchases, but not for hiring of firefighters. Following the
Great Fire of 1889, a professional fire department was created with five
district fire stations and purchase of a fire boat. The first Fire Chief of the
professional department was Gardner Kellogg, who served 1890-1892 and
1895-1901. A Board of Fire Commissioners was established by the 1890 City
Charter to prescribe rules and regulations for the Department. The Board's
responsibilities included enforcing rules violations and appointing the Fire
Chief and all subordinate officers. The Board was abolished with passage of a
new City Charter in 1896.
The Department's mission is to curtail loss of life and property by fire
through inspection and certification of building safety systems, public
education, regulation of hazardous material storage, and fire suppression.
The position of Fire Marshall was established in 1901 with
responsibility for inspecting buildings to ensure they were in compliance with
the ordinances related to building construction and fire protection. Other
duties included investigating cases of attempted arson, determining the causes
of fires, and investigating the type and value of property injured or destroyed
in fires. The Fire Marshall was appointed by the mayor and was to keep records
of investigations and make monthly reports to the City Council.
In 1932, the Fire Chief was given responsibility for the appointment of
the Fire Marshall; the former duties of the Marshall were assigned to the Fire
Chief to be delegated as necessary. The Fire Marshall became instructor of the
Fire Prevention and Inspection Force. In March of 1938, the position of Fire
Marshall was abolished, but was reinstated just two months later in an
ordinance that stated in part: "experience has demonstrated that the position
of Fire Marshal[l] is necessary for the proper functioning of the Fire
Department." Duties of the position included the former fire prevention and
inspection duties as well as the supervision of the Fire Prevention and
Inspection Force. In 1944, the Fire Marshall was given the added reponsibility
of enforcing "safety regulations" in Seattle Harbor.
Content Description
The Fire Marshall's monthly reports, dating from 1901 to 1961, are
statistical reports providing information on monetary loss due to fires, types
of alarms, number and causes of fires, loss per cause per occupancy, and
records of inspections and investigations of properties and incidents. Early
reports describe location, cause, total insurance and losses, property owners,
type of building, and values of buildings and property for each fire as well as
statistics; starting in the 1910s, reports contain more statistical
information, rather than lists of specific fires.
Special reports include a description of the 1918 fire at the Great
Northern Railway Oil dock, which caused "a loss six or seven times that of the
aggregate of all the other fires of the year"; a report on the investigation
into the 1919 "fatal fire" on Weller Street; and the Fire Department Shop
Foreman's report on centralized repairs of City vehicles.
Arrangement
Records are arranged chronologically by year, and, within each year, are
arranged chronologically by month.