Sioux City Pelletier Fire: Iowa Time Machine December 23, 1904

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On December 23, 1904, an inferno started at Pelletier Department Store in Sioux City and consumed two-and-a-half city blocks, causing $3 million in damages. The disaster stands as Sioux City's most destructive fire.

The early twentieth century witnessed American cities grappling with unprecedented growth and equally unprecedented fire risks. Sioux City's population had exploded from 7,500 in 1880 to nearly 33,000 by 1900, fueled by the expansion of railroads, meatpacking plants, and retail commerce. On the evening of December 23, 1904, a salesman in the crowded basement of the Pelletier Department Store prepared to demonstrate mechanical toys powered by a small steam engine. The store buzzed with last-minute shoppers surrounded by elaborate Christmas decorations, including paper streamers and mounds of white cotton arranged to resemble snow drifts. When the salesman struck a match to light the engine, the match head flew off and landed in the cotton. The decorative "snow" ignited instantly, and flames raced up the hanging paper streamers to the ceiling.

Fire Chief George Kelly, who happened to be nearby, noticed smoke curling from the basement and immediately sounded the alarm. Despite his quick response, the fire spread with terrifying speed throughout the multi-story building. Flames leaped across the street to the Toy Building, then swept westward through the Prugh Block at 314 Nebraska Street and the Leader Hotel. Wind gusts whipped the blaze from building to building while firefighters struggled with equipment inadequate for high-rise fires.

The conflagration burned throughout the night and continued smoldering into Christmas Eve morning. When dawn broke on December 24, two and a half blocks of downtown Sioux City lay in ruins. Remarkably, only one person died in the disaster when he jumped from his fourth-floor apartment toward a safety net below but struck a telephone cable and fell to the pavement. #Iowa #OTD #History #Fire #Disaster