Captain Archie McNeill believed the water would be deep enough to make a run to the city on Saturday, March 18, 1911. Not sure of being able to reach Woodland, McNeill tied Mascot up at the Lewis River Transportation Company's warehouse at Pekin. Start of the fire The fire began at 4:00 a.m. the next morning. The Morning Oregonian was quick to blame Gene Olsen, Mascot's night watchman, mentioning him by name in its initial report. Supposedly Olsen, who was said to have worked for the company for just a week before the fire, had gone into the hold to start the fire under the boiler. Olsen turned on the oil, but then something went wrong, and the fire burst out of control. Olsen raised the alarm, and two firemen, who had been asleep, woke up and started the pumps. Explosion of the oil tank The oil tank then exploded and the vessel burst into flames. The crew had no choice but to jump into the river and swim to shore. Burning oil covered the water near the steamer but did not reach the dock area. Ah Sing, the Chinese cook, nearly drowned but he was rescued by Elmer Jacobson, who has been described as either the purser or a fireman, who was then about 22 years of age. One man was missing however, the 71 year-old steward, Frank (or Sydney) Illidge. He was last heard from when the crew were evacuation the boat. Illidge had heard the cries of "fire", and when the mate, George P. Foley, knocked at his door to alert him, Illidge asked "where is the fire?" Foley yelled back: "The boat’s on fire." Loss amount and first investigation The steamer and cargo were a total loss. Despite having been reconstructed recently at a cost reported to have been $30,000, Mascot was only insured for $5,000. An investigation held on March 21, 1911 by the U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service found that none of the officers of Mascot were to blame for the fire. Search for the body On March 25, 1911, Clarence Illidge son of the deceased steward, hired Fritz De Rock, a local diver, to search for his father's body. On March 31, 1911 efforts to find the body of Sydney Illidge were abandoned. Illidge had been born in Haggerston, near London, England, on December 1, 1839. He had come to Oregon with his parents