More Fire In Elk River
Elk River Potato market during better times, circa 1900. SHC photo collections, 1995.017.012 Fire is all too common in farming communities. Barns and haystacks catch on fire. Wood buildings routinely burn. In 1924 Elk River, however, a particularly unusual fire erupted in the potato warehouse and the Elk River Fire Chief immediately suspected arson. Trainmen traveling through Elk River discovered a fire in the potato warehouse at 5 am on February 2, 1924. Luck followed the city and firefighters on this day. The Elk River fire siren had failed earlier in the week and continue to malfunction. The trainmen notified the telephone exchange. Telephone operators then notified firefighters by telephone. Fortunately, the fire remained small. After the firefighters entered the warehouse, they discovered several small fires. In an hour’s time, they extinguished the fire. Inspection of the wareh...