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Then and Now: Dishman fire of 1951

1951: On July 19, 1951, a fire broke out in Dishman, eventually consuming the Safeway store, a tire shop and the Dishman Trading Company. The fire, possibly started behind the Merrick Davis Tire Company, had a head start on firefighters. Because only one hydrant was nearby firefighters had to rig a hose to another hydrant that lay through a railway underpass near Argonne Road. By that time, the fire was almost out of control. The Dishman Theatre survived the fire thanks to the help of men on the roof extinguishing embers. (Photo submitted by Albert Neugebauer courtesy of Leo
1951: On July 19, 1951, a fire broke out in Dishman, eventually consuming the Safeway store, a tire shop and the Dishman Trading Company. The fire, possibly started behind the Merrick Davis Tire Company, had a head start on firefighters. Because only one hydrant was nearby firefighters had to rig a hose to another hydrant that lay through a railway underpass near Argonne Road. By that time, the fire was almost out of control. The Dishman Theatre survived the fire thanks to the help of men on the roof extinguishing embers. (Photo submitted by Albert Neugebauer courtesy of Leo's Studi)
By Jesse Tinsley jesset@spokesman.com(509) 459-5378

Early on Thursday, July 19, 1951, a fire broke out in a line of business buildings in Dishman, an unincorporated business district a few miles east of the Spokane city limits.

The fire started around 7 a.m. at the Merrick Davis Tire Company in a pile of tires stacked by the business’s back wall. Firefighters rolled up to a tower of billowing black smoke from burning rubber.

The fire quickly spread east to the Dishman Trading Company retail store, which shared a building with the Harnish’s Shoe and Clothing store. The fire then moved west to consume the 50-by-140-foot Safeway grocery store.

Fire crews responded from around the valley, the city of Spokane and the Naval Supply Depot. In 1940, valley residents had approved forming Spokane County Fire Protection District No. 1, linking together several small departments through the area. Dishman Fire, a two-truck department, was one of those. A 2018 historical documentary about the Spokane Valley Fire Department featured former firefighter Jim Kearney, who had joined the department in 1946 at age 20 and retired in 1976. He said that, when he signed on, the valley had 7,000 to 10,000 residents and the area was mostly small farms. At that time, teams of two manned each engine for 24-hour shifts and changed shifts at 6 p.m. at night.

An April 1951 Spokane Chronicle photo showed Kearney demonstrating the Valley’s new 750-gallon pumper that had just arrived at Dishman. It is likely that Kearney was present at the July fire.

But when the firefighters connected to the local water system to fight the fire, the water pressure was low and couldn’t feed the high output pumps.

Then the flames burned the overhead power lines, shutting down the pumps of the local water system. Quick repairs were made and 2,000 feet of extra hose were laid to hydrants connected to the Opportunity Township water system.

Because of the problems, it took two hours to get the blaze under control, but not before all three buildings were leveled and there was serious damage to some buildings nearby.

Merrick Davis Tire eventually reopened in Dishman. The Safeway site was sold in 1952 to an auto dealer. The Dishman Theater was spared.

In 2007, the Spokane County Fire Protection District 1 changed its name to the Spokane Valley Fire Department. The department has 10 fire stations and 200 employees.