HALIFAX DEVASTATED BY EXPLOSION AND FIRE
A Collision in the Harbor Between a Munition Ship and a Relief Vessel Causes an Explosion Which Wrecks Half of the City and Causes a Loss of 4,000 Lives
An explosion resulting from the collision of a ship loaded with explosives occurred in the harbor of Halifax, N. S. on December 6, at 9 o’clock a. m. The collision took place in the Narrows, a portion of the harbor only about half a mile wide, and the full force of the explosion was visited upon the portion of the city lying opposite that point. Over 2,000 dead and more than 3,000 injured is the estimate at the latest accounts. Among those who lost their lives are Chief Edward Condon, Deputy Chief William Brunt and Captain Peter Broderick, of the fire department, who were killed by the explosion of a fire engine while engaged in trying to control the fire. Over the flame-swept area of the Richmond section of the city approximately two and a half square miles, many searchers confined their efforts after the explosion to making sure that all the injured were removed to hospitals. Other organized parties sought out those bodies that might be identified and rushed them to the morgues. In this section, which is on rising ground, the full force of the explosion was felt, and not a building was left standing, and here was the greatest loss of life. Buildings that withstood the force of the explosion were destroyed by the fire that swept the district, and scores of the injured were taken from the ruins of the railway station, the refinery of the American Sugar Refining Company, the military gymnasium and the Arena rink, while few, if any, of the several hundred children attending the Richmond school are known to have escaped. Virtually all business was suspended, and the inhabitants, aided by soldiers and sailors, including seamen from an American warship, gave their time to rescue work. Every portion of all available buildings was made ready within an hour to receive the wounded. A steady stream of ambulances and automobiles arrived at hospitals, which soon were filled to capacity with the injured. Doctors, nurses and volunteers toiled ceaselessly in the work of succor. Their ranks soon were swelled by others, who arrived in constantly increasing numbers from nearby towns. Those only slightly injured were sent to their homes or to those of friends after their wounds had been treated. There were hundreds of cases of serious injury, however, and it is expected the death list will be greatly increased by those who succumb to their wounds. The property loss was estimated at $25,000,000 to $30,000,000, and the number of destitute at upward of 20,000. The fire department is equipped with 25 pieces of horse-drawn apparatus and three motor pumpers, but in spite of help from nearby towns, the extent of the area covered by the fire overwhelmed the best efforts of the firemen.
