Similar to the blame placed on Mrs. O’Leary and her cow, the cause of the Seattle fire was allegedly a woodworking assistant who overheated a glue pot in a carpentry shop on June 6, 1889. The glue boiled over and ignited the floor covered in turpentine and wood chips. Many businesses were below grade, and the streets were planked with wood, making it difficult to extinguish the fire, which burned for 12 hours.