William "Billy" Wells
Halifax Fire Department
As of June 7, 1906, Billy Wells was the driver of No. 1 ladder truck. On that day, he was fined $5.00 by City Council (under the recommendation of the Board of Firewards) for being absent from the engine house without leave.
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Billy Wells doesn't need to be reminded of the day the earth shook and the bed of the Halifax harbour was split open. He was about as near as one could possibly get to the huge powder keg "when she blew." "We didn't know the ship was carrying munitions," he said.
Mr. Wells, now 87, is a resident of Halifax, and at the time of the explosion was employed by the fire department. He is the only survivor of the fire engine crew that answered the call to put the fire out. "It was about twenty minutes to nine when we received a telephone call at the West Street Fire Station saying there was a ship on fire at pier number 8 (now pier 9)." "Our fire engine, the 'Patricia,' had a crew of eight men," recalled Billy. "I was the driver and we immediately rushed down to the pier. The ship was almost along side the dock and the multi-coloured flames shooting from her decks to the sky present-ed a beautiful sight."
Thinking the crew were still on board, the firemen started to unroll the hose, he said. "That's when it happened." When the Mont Blanc exploded, Billy was thrown clear of the fire truck and somehow managed to keep on land during the tidal wave that followed. Later he was taken to Camp Hill Hospital where it took him five months to recover from the blast which took the lives of more than 2,000 people. "The first thing I remember after the explosion was standing quite a distance from the fire engine." he related. "The force of the explosion had blown off all my clothes as well as the muscles from my right arm."
Remembering vividly, Billy said he was standing "quite conscious" when the tidal wave came right over him. "After the wave had re-ceded I didn't see anything of the other firemen so made my way to the old magazine on Campbell Road" (now Barrington Street). "The sight was awful" he said, "with people hanging out of windows dead. Some with their heads off, and some thrown onto the overhead telegraph wires. I was taken to Camp Hill Hospital and lay on the floor for two days waiting for a bed. The Doctors and Nurses certainly gave me great service."
It was miraculous that Billy had survived after being literally on top`of the explosion. Today, apart from an arm lacking tissue and muscle as a memento of the occasion, William Wells of 3168 Agricola, has half the steering wheel of the Patricia as a souvenir. The terrific impact from a man made destructive force, unequalled in power till the first atomic bomb, had sent Billy sailing through the air still clutching the wheel.
(Source: Chronicle Herald, December 6th, 1967)