the mountains, a blaze in the headquarters of the Zellerbach Paper Company at 115-23 North Los Angeles Street threatened to spread to adjoining buildings on April 6, 1909, and "the heart of the great wholesale district was in danger." The damage to the Zellerbach building was lessened by the presence of a large fire wall running between the east and west walls of the building, but "everything on the south half was ruined," a contemporary account read. "Within twenty minutes . . . A crowd of 15,000 had collected. East First Street was packed with humanity. Los Angeles street toward the north was a swaying, jostling mass. Ropes were brought and a squad of police detailed to keep back the spectators. The race-track [street]cars were stalled and the hundreds of passengers watched the fire until notified that cars had been stationed at Los Angeles and Commercial streets." Five firemen had a narrow escape ... Chief Lips and four assistants were playing a hose through the broken window when the flames took a new tack and swept over them. The Chief and three men escaped down the ladder. Oscar Jones of Company No. 6 wa driven to a corner of the platform, and cut off from the ladder by a sheet of flame. He jumped to a near-by line of hose which had been carried to the roof and escaped by sliding to the ground. He was singed about the head and face. The immense crowd cheered him as he lowered himself by means of the hose.1921. A spectacular fire on the evening of March 17 sent "a mighty shaft of flame" into the sky and destroyed a warehouse belonging to the Pacific Wood and Coal Company on Seventh Street at the Santa Fe Railroad tracks. Carloads of coal, coke, wood, hay, grain, poultry supplies and distillate went up in smoke, as did six "automobile trucks." Firefighters escaped serious injuries in the general-alarm fire when a burning wall collapsed upon them, but they "quickly extricated themselves uninjured from the mass of debris and continued with their work." The company, which had offices in Los Angeles and San Diego, was one of the largest firms of its kind in Southern California.1967. Three fires within four nights broke out in December 1966 and January 1967 in an 11-block area in the Mission Road district. Losses were suffered by Charles Weinreich Ltd, packer and