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Halifax Disaster Record Office
Archibald MacMechan, F. R. S. C.
Director
Halifax, N.S.

Journal
Jan 29, 1918

Unloading Shells At the South End
Fire Chief's Report Was Being Read to Board of Control When Alarm Sounded This Morning- The Mayor's Letter to Authorities.
The report of Fire Chief Churchill on conditions at piers 23 and 24, and the correspondence between the Mayor and General Benson in reference to such conditions were before the City Board of Control meeting this morning while the alarm was sounding for the fire at the piers.
On instructions of Controller Hines Chief Churchill had inspected the piers as to fire prevention conditions and he reported conditions as her found them including the nearest city hydrant at the foot of Inglis St., stand pipes at the sheds difficult to connect hose to, one he was informed was frozen, stand pipes through the walls of both sheds, three tar pots in the vicinity, one of them 12 feet from pier 23, cotton waster in onr of the rooms, a cask of dry shavings and saw dust, etc., The Chief described the fire fighting facilities on the piers, and he considered fire protection at both piers nil, the apparatus in charge of watchmen who, with no experience as firemen, did not know how to operate them. The cargo discharged from the S. S. Picton was being piled 14 layers high.
The chief recommended that 2 experiences men be on fire patrol duty at the piers continuously, 3 shifts in 24 hours, right of way to the piers kept free at all times for apparatus, that a permanent house or room conveniently located to contain the hose reel be provided, auxiliary fire alarm boxes installed in convenient locations and that the axes at the pier sheds be better distributed. The chief's report was dated Jan. 29th.

Mayor's Letter to Authorities.
The Mayor submitted copies of his letter addressed to General Benson and Capt. Pasco, R. N. and General Benson's reply:
Jan. 24th,
"Dear Sir: -
"On behalf of the City of Halifax I deem it my duty to object to the loading and unloading of munition ships at the piers in the City of Halifax. Despite any rules and regulations which might be laid down for safety in the handling of explosives, the danger of the unexpected happening is bound to exist, and I must strongly urge that all cause of danger be removed rather than depend on the uncertain chance of surrounding the operations with precautionary rules.
"In support of this protest I wish to point out to you the case of the S.S. Picton, a munition ship which, in company with the president of the Board of Trade, I visited this morning.
"We found the Picton unloading explosives at a pier at the Halifax Ocean Terminals and necessary precautions in case of fire were not taken. We found three fire hydrants, but the fire hose was 200 feet away, locked up, and no person around to look after it. In our opinion there should be two fire men on duty night and day ready for emergency. There should be additional sentries at the harbor end of the pier. We found a blazing tar pot, used for repairing the roof of a shed, in the immediate vicinity of where the explosives were being handled.
"Under these circustances we can-

MGI vol 2124 number 81