The Bombay Port Fire of April 14, 1944

Incident Overview:

Date: April 14, 1944
Location: Bombay Port (Now Mumbai Port)
Cause: A fire in the cargo hold of the SS Fort Stikine, a freighter carrying explosives and ammunition along with cotton bales, gold and other cargo, led to two massive explosions. The ship lay at No. 1 berth, Victoria Dock. The fire was an accident, not enemy action: the commission of inquiry blamed the way the cargo was stowed and the slow response to the fire, and no sabotage was found.

Sequence of Events:

1. Fire, then explosions: Around 2 pm, a fire was found in the No. 2 hold of the SS Fort Stikine at Victoria Dock. Firefighters fought it through the afternoon, but the explosives were not unloaded. At about 4:06 pm, when the dockside clock stopped, the burning cargo set off the first explosion. A second, more powerful blast followed roughly half an hour later (sources put it between 4:34 and 4:40 pm). The blasts were heard across a wide radius, shaking buildings and causing panic among residents.
2. Spread of Fire: The fire quickly spread to nearby ships and warehouses due to the highly combustible nature of the cargo. The intensity of the explosions and the flammable materials on board hampered every attempt to contain the fire. Counts of the ships lost differ. A NATO explosives-safety review (MSIAC) says that of 21 vessels in the docks, 11 were total losses, 5 were badly damaged and 4 had repairable damage. Wikipedia lists 13 ships lost, and the Mumbai Port Authority history says that of 24 ships in Victoria and Prince’s Docks, 11 were on fire and four sunk or sinking. MSIAC adds that about 50 pier sheds and warehouses were flattened or gutted and about 24 cranes were lost. Wikipedia puts the area set ablaze at about 2 square kilometres.
3. Casualties: Nobody knows the exact toll, and the published figures run from a few hundred to well over a thousand. Time magazine (22 May 1944) quoted an official count of 360 dead and 1,815 injured and warned that the real toll might never be known. Some recent articles quote an official toll of 740 dead, 476 of them military personnel, and about 1,800 injured; we have not seen the original record behind that figure. Wikipedia, Scroll and other popular histories say about 800 to 1,300 dead and up to 3,000 injured, History.com says 1,300 dead, and the MSIAC review estimates 1,000 to 1,500 dead and 4,000 injured. The Mumbai Port Authority history gives 231 lives lost and about 476 injured in its account of port staff and firemen, and the Mumbai Fire Brigade counts 66 of its own officers and men killed. We use about 800 as a working figure, within a range of 360 to 1,500, and do not treat any single total as settled. The dead included dockworkers, firefighters, sailors and families living near the docks. Wartime censorship hid much of the damage, and the news reached the public only weeks later.
4. Response Efforts: Firefighters and medical personnel from the emergency services were mobilized to the scene. The Mumbai Port Authority history says 156 officers and firemen joined the first fight against the fire, and 65 of them were killed and 80 injured; only eleven escaped unhurt. The main fires took about three days and nights to bring under control, and Mumbai’s fire brigade says fire-fighting went on for over a month. However, the scale of the disaster overwhelmed local resources, leading to challenges in rescue operations and medical care.

Impact:

1. Humanitarian Loss: The Bombay Port Fire led to a tragic loss of life, with hundreds of families losing loved ones. The event left a lasting impact on the community, prompting discussions on safety protocols and disaster preparedness.
2. Economic Fallout: Ships, warehouses and cargo were destroyed, and the economic repercussions were heavy. No single total for the loss exists. Time reported insurance claims of about $150 million within weeks, and still rising. The Mumbai Port Authority history says the Government paid out Rs 85 million for fire and blast damage, Rs 15 million under marine policies, Rs 35 million for uninsured property, Rs 1.3 million for personal injuries and Rs 450,000 on miscellaneous policies, which adds up to about Rs 13.7 crore. By February 1945, 3,083 people had registered claims for fire or blast damage and 11,735 for uninsured property. The ship carried 31 crates of gold bullion, valued at about £890,000, and gold bars were still being recovered during dredging as late as 2011. More than 50,000 tonnes of food grain were also lost. The port’s operations were disrupted for an extended period, affecting trade and commerce in the region.
3. Infrastructure Damage: Buildings, roads and utilities across a wide area were damaged by the blast. Time reported at least 50,000 people homeless, while Wikipedia gives about 80,000. Sappers pulled down hundreds of buildings to stop the fire spreading. Clearing the debris took thousands of men many months; accounts put the rubble at between half a million and a million tons. The rebuilding process was lengthy and expensive, straining the city’s resources.
4. Safety Reforms: In the aftermath of the disaster, there was a renewed emphasis on safety regulations for handling hazardous materials in ports and industrial areas. It became a catalyst for improved safety standards and emergency response protocols. A commission of inquiry under Sir Leonard Stone, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, named five main causes: wartime practice of bringing ships loaded with explosives into the docks; cotton stowed above and below explosives at Karachi; accidental ignition of the cotton in No. 2 hold; failure of those in authority to grasp how serious the fire was and to act with energy; and the lack of one central controller at the fire.

Legacy:

The Bombay Port Fire of 1944 stays etched in the memory of Mumbai’s residents. Each year 14 April is marked as Fire Service Day in memory of the 66 Mumbai Fire Brigade officers and men who died, and a memorial to them stands at the brigade headquarters in Byculla. It stands as a reminder of the devastating consequences of industrial accidents and the importance of robust safety measures in high-risk environments.

---

This case study highlights the tragic events of the Bombay Port Fire and its far-reaching impacts on the city of Mumbai and its inhabitants.

More on Mumbai: see our Mumbai fire and emergency safety guide for fire brigade numbers, every fire station and the local risks to know.