Ship Name: Green Hill Park
Vital Statistics:
Length: 424.46’: Beam: 57.2 Draft: 34.9’ Tonnage: 7168 t
Hull: steel
Power source: 10,000 HP; triple-expansion steam engine, oil
Built: By Burrard Dry Dock Co Ltd for the Canadian Government (Park Steamship Co)
Green Hill Park is most notable for the explosion of its cargo while docked at Vancouver’s Pier B in 1945. The Green Hill Park explosion, the worst in Vancouver history, killed eight men and wounded many more. The blast rocked the downtown core, and flying glass from the shattered store windows along Cordova and Hastings streets cut pedestrians. The resulting fire on the freighter took three days to put out.
What happened on March 6, 1945 at 11:45 a.m.?
- Longshoremen loading the freighter notice a fire coming from one of the holds
- Cries of “fire” send men rushing for hoses and extinguishers, and crew start unloading hold Number 3 where the smoke is coming from
- A blast rocks the vessel and nearby boats
- Three more explosions follow, creating a tidal shock wave that crashes onto the shore
- Stunned spectators witness a magnificent display of fireworks as seven and a half tons of emergency signal flares stored in the same hold ignite
What was in the hold?
- Lumber, newsprint, and tin plate comprised most of the cargo
- Other cargo included pickles, cloth, sunglasses, lamps, light bulbs, books, radio equipment, and knitting needles
- In hold #3 there was also:
- 94 tons of sodium chlorate (a chemical used in fertilizer, for bleaching, and explosives)
- Several barrels of over proof (60%) whisky
- 7 Ѕ tons of signal flares
What caused the Explosion?
- A commission of enquiry concluded that a lit match ignited spilled whisky.
- But a deathbed confession revealed that a few of the men were siphoning whisky from the barrels. One of the men lit a match to see in the dark and the highly flammable fumes from the 60% whiskey ignited.
- The signal flares were stored on top of the whiskey.
How big were the explosions?
- Newspapers from the time report 30 foot flames
- Survivors claim some men were thrown 75 feet into the air
- Exploding cargo rained down from the sky for 15 minutes
- Pickles fell like green hail and sunglasses were found as far as Lumberman’s Arch in Stanley Park
Who put out the fire?
The ship was towed away from the pier, and over to the North Shore but waves made it difficult to beach it. There was some concern about it going under the Lion’s Gate Bridge, as there could be another explosion and destroy the bridge. It eventually beached somewhere near Stanley Park and fire fighters aboard the fireboat J H Carlisle extinguished the fire in three days. Afterwards the ship was towed back to a pier. It was bought for less than 9% of its original cost by a Brazilian company and repaired.
The Aftermath
A newly formed international union of longshoremen, and others, used the disaster to lobby for tighter control/enforcement of stowage regulations.
For more information:
Paterson, T.W. Disaster. Victoria: Solitaire Publications, c1973. pp. 23-30.
Stanton, John. “The Green Hill Park Disaster: A Memoir”. The Beaver (April-May, 1987), pp 26-36.
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