Bismarck was founded in 1872. In the style of the times, workers hauled in massive amounts of lumber to build the town, creating an expanse of dry, wooden buildings. It is no surprise then that they finished a volunteer firehouse in 1884. The department had some rudimentary equipment like a ladder wagon, but they were not prepared for the blaze that flared up on this date in 1898.
It all began near the agent’s office of the Northern Pacific Railway station a little before 9 p.m. Someone raised the alarm, but the sharp winds of the prairie fanned the flames across the highly flammable town, wasting no time in demolishing everything in its path. At least two powder kegs exploded inside the large freight warehouse, blowing the roof off. As the fire shot out of control, the wind blew stifling plumes of smoke at the firefighters, burning their eyes. Phones also went down so the neighboring town of Mandan didn’t know about the fire until they saw a glow on the horizon. They sent in their firefighters to help on a special train. It was three in the morning before the fire was subdued. Unfortunately, it had already ravaged most of the town, taking down businesses like Kuntz’s and Wan’s Cigar Factory, Penwarden’s confectionary shop, most of the grocery stores, and all the drug stores.
Some see the bright side of the fire. Modern blogger Randy Hoffman believes it sparked rebirth, stating, “The Fire of 1898 helped propel Bismarck from its shantytown frontier roots.”
Dakota Datebook written by Lucid Thomas, credit to Troy Larson, Ghosts of North Dakota
Sources
https://www.bismarcknd.gov/1073/History-of-the-Bismarck-Fire-Department
http://www.ghostsofnorthdakota.com/2014/08/07/the-great-bismarck-fire-of-1898/
