Halifax Explosion - Rescue Efforts

Rescue Efforts

First rescue efforts came from surviving neighbours and co-workers who pulled and dug out victims from buildings. The initial informal response was soon joined by surviving policemen, firefighters and military personnel who began to arrive, as did anyone with a working vehicle. A flood of victims soon began to arrive at the city's hospitals and soon grew to overwhelming numbers.

British Royal Navy cruisers in port sent some of the first organized rescue parties ashore. The cruiser HMS Highflyer and the armed merchant cruisers HMS Changuinola, HMS Knight Templar and HMS Calgarian sent boats ashore with rescue parties and medical personnel and soon began to take wounded aboard. An American coast guard cutter, USCG Morrill, in port for coal, also sent a rescue party ashore. Out at sea, the American cruiser USS Tacoma and armed merchant cruiser USS Von Steuben (formerly SS Kronprinz Wilhelm) were passing Halifax over 80 kilometres (50 mi) away, en route to the United States. Tacoma was rocked by the blast wave severely enough that her crew went to general quarters. Spotting the large and rising column of smoke, Tacoma altered course and arrived to assist rescue at 2 PM. Von Steuben arrived a half hour later. The American steamship Old Colony, docked in Halifax for repairs, suffered little damage and was quickly converted to serve as a hospital ship, staffed by doctors and orderlies from the British and American navy vessels in the harbour.

Dazed survivors immediately feared that the explosion was the result of a bomb dropped from a German plane. Troops at gun batteries and barracks immediately turned out in case the city was under attack but within an hour switched from defence to rescue roles as the cause and location of the explosion were determined. All available troops were called in from harbour fortifications and barracks to the north end to rescue survivors and provide transport to the city's hospitals, including the two army hospitals in the city.

Surviving railway works in the railyards at the heart of the disaster carried out rescue work pulling people from the harbour and from under debris. The overnight train from Saint John, New Brunswick was just approaching the city when hit by the blast but was only slightly damaged. It continued into Richmond until the track was blocked by wreckage. Passengers and soldiers aboard used the emergency tools from the train to dig people out of houses and bandaged them with sheets from the sleeping cars. The train was loaded with injured and left the city at 1:30 with a doctor aboard, to evacuate the wounded to Truro.

Adding to the chaos were fears that a second explosion was imminent. The rumour developed when a cloud of steam shot out of ventilators at the ammunition magazine at Wellington Barracks as naval and personnel extinguished a fire by the magazine. The fire was quickly put out, but the cloud of steam, seen from blocks away, quickly led to rumours of a second explosion. Uniformed officers ordered everyone away from the area. As the rumour spread across the city, many families fled their homes. The confusion delayed efforts by over two hours until fears were dispelled by about noon. However, many rescuers ignored the order and naval rescue parties continued working uninterrupted from the harbour.

Led by Lieutenant Governor MacCallum Grant, leading citizens formed the Halifax Relief Committee, around noon. The committee organized members in charge of organizing medical relief for both Halifax and Dartmouth, transportation, supplying food and shelter, amongst other tasks.

Rescue trains were dispatched from across Atlantic Canada, as well as the northeastern United States. The first left Truro around 10 AM carrying medical personnel and supplies, arrived in Halifax by noon and returned to Truro with wounded and homeless by 3 PM. The track became impassable at Rockingham, on the western edge of Bedford Basin. To reach the wounded, rescue personnel had to walk through parts of the devastated city until they reached a point where the military had begun to clear the streets. By nightfall, a dozen trains had reached Halifax from the Nova Scotian towns of Truro, Kentville, Amherst and Stellarton and from the New Brunswick towns of Sackville, Moncton and Saint John.

Relief efforts were hampered the following day by a blizzard that blanketed Halifax with 16 inches (41 cm) of heavy snow. Trains en route from other parts of Canada and from the United States were stalled in snowdrifts, while telegraph lines that were hastily repaired following the explosion were again knocked down. Halifax was isolated by the storm and rescue committees were forced to suspend the search for survivors, though the storm aided efforts to put out fires throughout the city.