Ledger

Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: Campus News

A bell belonging to the Tacoma Fire Department rang three times to represent Hill's passing.

1. Attendees of the ceremony look over the commemorative photo display on the third floor of GWP.

One hundred years ago, flames in the Garretson Woodruff Pratt building blazed out of control. Dense smoke swirled in the building while Tacoma firemen fought back with hoses, ladders and sheer determination. But, for one firefighter, even stubborn force of will proved insufficient.

On that winter day in 1908, the University of Washington Tacoma campus did not even exist yet. Most of today's campus consisted of warehouses and company-owned buildings. GWP had a fifth floor, for example -- and most of it was on fire.

32-year-old George Hill, a lieutenant with Engine Company Number 4, struggled up to the fifth floor of the building, then occupied by Davis Smith & Co. To reach the flames, Hill set his partially wooden ladder directly on a steep ledge. When he kicked on the pressure for the hose he held, the force of the water drove the ladder down three rungs. He still held on, but he lost his shot at the fire.

Below, the street filled with people watching the blaze. With dense smoke billowing from above and firefighters' water dousing him from below, Hill somehow moved off his ladder to hang on to the ledge. Reaching back for the ladder, Hill then lost his balance and fell five stories to the ground. He survived, and was carried to the nearby train station, but he later died from his injuries.
At Lt. Hill's funeral procession days later, many Tacoma residents lined the streets to honor the heroic firefighter.

A hundred years later, on Feb. 25, people gathered on the third floor of the GWP building to commemorate the fire and the life it took. Tacoma historian and UWT lecturer Michael Sullivan told the story of Hill's last day, noting the significance of the university's local history.

"Every day on this campus, we walk in a place where we know footprints have gone before," he said.
Those in attendance at the ceremony included Tacoma Fire Chief Ron Stephens. "I think that we have some of the bravest firefighters in the country here," Stephens said in a speech. "I'd like to thank the university for taking the time to make this memorial happen."

At the end of the commemorative ceremony a large bell, formerly used to announce the beginning and end of a firefighter's work day, rang three times to represent Hill's passing.

Hill and the fire are remembered in a new historic photo display on the third floor of GWP, which features a photo of the blaze along with a description of what happened.

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