Someone recently wanted to know how the Emerson Hotel, a three-story brick building caught fire. First, a little background. The reason why Susanville came into existence as a municipality, had to do with the lack of fire protection. Its business district had been devastated by fire too many times.

In 1902, the City of Susanville introduced Ordinance No. 17 that structures in the business district be constructed of fire resistant materials, such as brick, native stone and concrete. The roofs of these buildings would use fire resistant material as well.

The Emerson Hotel was built in 1900-01. The one feature the brick building did not possess was a fire resistant roof. At around midnight on August 5, 1915, Emerson’s warehouse located on nearby Cottage Street caught fire. The wooden structure, built in 1873 originally housed the Congregational Church. By the time the fire was discovered, the building was engulfed in flames, with erratic winds sending embers into the air. In no time, the roof of the Emerson Hotel was on fire and containment was impossible, for now the fire had spread to two nearby structures the Hyer House Hotel and the Methodist Church, the latter a brick building. It should be noted the Methodist Church was built at the same time as the Emerson Hotel, and lacked a fire resistant roof.

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During the 1880s and 1890s the residents of Susanville struggled with the issue of a much needed public hall. The Methodist Church was used for many public functions, including the annual community Christmas tree. On Decoration (Memorial) Day of 1898, after special ceremonies were held at the Susanville Cemetery, further presentations were then conducted at the Methodist Church. This time, church could not accommodate all those who attended. It was proposed that the community raise funds to enlarge the church. It gained momentum for awhile. Then on the evening of August 9, 1898 disaster struck when Susanville’s most prominent structure the Masonic Temple (better known today as the Knoch building) caught fire and the building entirely gutted. In the end, the Methodist Church was remodeled in the late fall of 1898, that allowed for extra seating, but the building was not enlarged.

In February 1899, the Susanville Town Hall Association was incorporated. It, too, was derailed by a fire the following year, but that event led to the formation of the City of Susanville.

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In November, 1921, the Lassen Lodge No.149, F.&A.M. found themselves once again homeless due to fire. In 1917, the Mason’s acquired the Native Sons of the Golden West two-story wooden hall adjacent to the City Fire Hall on the corner of Lassen & Nevada Streets. It was those two structures that were destroyed in the November blaze. Finances hindered the Masons, but it did not stop plans for a replacement.

On July 19, 1924, the Mason’s entered into a contract with T.J. Rees of Fallon, Nevada to construct a new lodge. The two-story native stone building carried a price tag of $35,000. It was agreed to have the building completed by January 1, 1925. However, that did not quite happen, and it was not until June 12, 1925 when the Masonic Temple was dedicated.

There are two interesting side-line notes. The Masonic Temple was the last major native stone building constructed in Susanville. When Rees completed the building, he found himself a new job constructing the Hotel Mt. Lassen.

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One never know how scenarios may turn out. A perfect example was when an oil truck over turned at the west entrance of Susanville near noon time on April 24, 1944. Fortunately, the driver, 27 year-old Hayward resident, Donald Fedick, escaped without injuries. The truck and fuel tank were totaled, a loss estimated at $12,000. The fuel tank spewed forth 6,000 gallons of fuel oil down the gutters of Susanville. Consider it a miracle, especially when one takes into consideration how prevalent smoking was then, that a stray match or cigarette was not tossed into the gutter setting off a massive blaze.

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