The Bedford Magazine explosion was a

conflagration A conflagration is a large fire. Conflagrations often damage human life, animal life, health, and/or property. A conflagration can begin accidentally, be naturally caused (wildfire), or intentionally created (arson). A very large fire can produc ...

resulting in a series of explosions from July 18 to 19, 1945, in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

, Nova Scotia, Canada. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the adjacent cities of Halifax and Dartmouth, provided heavy support for Canada's war effort in Europe. Not long after

VE-Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

, on the evening of Wednesday, July 18, a fire broke out on the

jetty A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...

of the Bedford Magazine, now CFAD Bedford (Magazine Hill) on the

Bedford Basin Bedford Basin is a large enclosed bay, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour on Canada's Atlantic coast. It is named in honour of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford. Geography Geographically, the basin is situated entirely within the ...

, north of Dartmouth. The magazine fire began when a barge exploded that evening at 6:30 PM, quickly spreading fire to the dock where ammunition had been temporarily stored outside due to overcrowding in the main compound. A chain reaction of fires, explosions and concussions ensued, continuing for more than 24 hours. Halifax, having been previously devastated by the

Halifax Explosion On the morning of 6 December 1917, the French cargo ship collided with the Norwegian vessel in the waters of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The ''Mont-Blanc'', laden with high explosives, caught fire and exploded, devastating the Richmond ...

, had emergency plans in place for such an incident, leading to an orderly and widespread evacuation of Halifax's northern half. The damage resulting from this incident was far less than that of the Halifax Explosion; however, the blasts shattered windows, crumpled roofs, and cracked structures. Very few injuries were reported, with none severe. Patrolman Henry Raymond Craig, a naval seaman on watch that night, was the lone fatality, having rushed to the pier upon noticing a fire, just prior to the initial barge explosion. The community was still resentful of the navy for the VE-Day Riots, but the efforts of voluntary firefighting by naval personnel at the ammunition depot helped to alleviate these lingering feelings. The barge responsible for starting the explosion presently lies on the seabed near the eastern shoreline adjacent to the CFAD Bedford magazine dock.

References

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1945 in Nova Scotia Explosions in 1945 July 1945 events in North America Industrial fires and explosions in Canada History of Halifax, Nova Scotia 1945 fires in North America 20th-century fires in Canada 1945 disasters in Canada