"City of Singapore"Print Page 
The bronze plaque commemorates the bravery of the firemen George James Alexandra Anderson, James Hickey and Albert Greenman who died in the City of Singapore fire in 1924.
The City of Singapore was loaded with a shipment of cars and tractors from America and a large "quantity of flammable cargo, including kerosene, lubricating oil and 38,000 cases of petrol.
On April 26, 1924, one of the ship`s officers saw flames coming from a ventilator. The local fire brigade was ill-equipped to deal with such a disaster, and fire crews from all over Adelaide moved in during the night to assist.
The Chief Officer at the Head Fire Station in Adelaide called all men to parade, and told them that he wanted volunteers to attend the fire. Not one fireman refused to go to the fire. Driver Albert Greenman was one of those who went to the fire.
The hold was flooded and the fire apparently contained. Shortly afterwards an explosion threw some of those on the boat onto the wharf and others escaped by climbing through portholes ahead of the flames. Greenman was found lying on the deck with dreadful head injuries and was dead on admission to Port Adelaide hospital. Eleven firemen and two of the ship`s personnel were taken to the hospital injured. George Anderson and Jim Hickey also disappeared.
A number of crew members and private citizens were awarded medals and certificates from the Royal Humane Society of Australasia.
Location
| Address: | Wakefield Street, Foyer, South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service, Adelaide, 5000 |
|---|---|
| State: | SA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -34.928528 Long: 138.605232 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Disaster |
| Sub-Theme: | Fire |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 26-April-1924 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 26-April-1924 |
Dedication
The Fire Brigades Board
In memory of Firemen Albert Greenman
George James Alexandra Anderson
James Hickey
Who were killed on April 26 1924 while on duty at the fire on S. S. City of Singapore
Port Adelaide
On Sunday the 26th of April 1924 the steamship the City of Singapore was berthed at No 2 Quay, Port Adelaide.
She had unloaded some of her cargo, but nearly 600,000 litres of oil and petrol remained on board. At 7.45pm the Captain was notified of smoke coming from the ventilators and at 7.50pm the Port Adelaide and Semaphore Fire Brigades and the fireboat Ada were dispatched. Upon their arrival they immediately contacted Headquarters for more assistance.
By 10.30pm the firefighters had flooded the hold and the situation was deemed to be under control. Then – those on board felt a “rumbling” throughout the ship followed by a massive explosion. This left eleven firefighters and two ship`s personnel in hospital and, tragically, three firefighters dead.
The only remains found of George Anderson were some coins and buttons from his tunic, a locker key and some small pieces of firefighting equipment.
The body of Albert Greenman was recovered for the Port River, but not trace of James Hickey was ever found, such was the ferocity of the blast.
This is a memorial to those gallant firefighters.
