Dear all,
FYI
The Fire Service Week is observed nation wide in remembrance of the lives lost in the devastating fire and explosion which occurred on 14th April, 1944 at the Victoria Dock of Bombay Port.
The objective of the event is that all precautions should be taken to ensure that fires do not take place so that life and property are protected by enhancing awareness on fire safety and mobilising action amongst employees, their families and public.
National Safety Council, Karnataka Chapter has been promoting the observance of Fire Service Week to help you organize the Fire Service Week effectively every year in a befitting manner.
The Bombay Explosion (or Bombay Docks Explosion) occurred on 14 April 1944, in the Victoria Dock of Bombay (now Mumbai) when the SS Fort Stikine carrying a mixed cargo of cotton bales, gold, ammunition including around 1,400 tons of explosive caught fire and was destroyed in two giant blasts, scattering debris, sinking surrounding ships and killing around 800 people.IncidentThe explosion
In the mid-afternoon around 14.00, the crew were alerted to a fire onboard. Burning somewhere in the No. 2 hold, the crew, dockside fire teams and fireboats were unable to extinguish the conflagration, despite pumping over 900 tons of water into the ship, or find the source due to the dense smoke.
At 15:50 the order to abandon ship was given, and sixteen minutes later there was a great explosion, cutting the ship in two and breaking windows over 12 km away. The two explosions were powerful enough to be recorded by seismographs at the Colaba Observatory in the city. Around two square miles were ablaze in an 800-metre arc around the ship, eleven neighbouring vessels were sunk or sinking, and the emergency personnel at the site suffered heavy losses. Attempts to fight the fire were dealt a further blow when a second explosion from the ship swept the area at 16:34.
Aftermath Aftermath of the explosion at the harbour
A piece of propeller that landed in St. Xaviers High School, some three kilometres from the docks.
It took three days to bring the fire under control, and later 8,000 men toiled for seven months to remove around 500,000 tons of debris and bring the docks back into action. The official death toll was 740, including 476 military personnel, with around 1,800 people injured; unofficial tallies run much higher. In total, twenty-seven other vessels were sunk or damaged in both Victoria dock and the neighbouring Prince's Dock.
Many families lost all their belongings and were left with just the clothes on their back. The government took full responsibility for the disaster and monetary compensation was paid to citizens who made a claim for loss or damage to property.
During normal dredging operations carried out periodically to maintain the depth of the docking bays one or two gold bars were found intact sporadically as late as 2011 and returned to the British government. Mumbai Fire Brigade's headquarters at Byculla has a memorial built in the memory of numerous fire fighters who died.
Regards,
Hansa Vyas