Editing Halifax Explosion (section)

===Explosion===
{{multiple image
 | direction = vertical
 | width = 220
 | image1 = Blast cloud from the Halifax Explosion, December 6, 1917.jpg
 | caption1 = Blast cloud of the explosion
 | image2 = Plan of the City of Halifax, Nova Scotia, showing the radius of the blast from the explosion - Plan de la cite d’Halifax en Nouvelle-Écosse, montrant l’étendue du souffle de l’explosion (8148373492).jpg
 | caption2 = A map showing the radius of the explosion
 | image3 = Halifax Explosion - harbour view - restored.jpg
 | alt3 = Destroyed buildings, with harbour in background
 | caption3 = A view across the devastation of Halifax two days after the explosion, looking toward the Dartmouth side of the harbour. ''Imo'' is visible aground on the far side of the harbour.
}}
At 9:04:35&nbsp;am the out-of-control fire on board ''Mont-Blanc'' set off her cargo of high explosives.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=58}} The ship was completely blown apart and a powerful [[blast wave]] radiated away from the explosion initially at more than {{convert|1000|m}} per second. Temperatures of {{convert|5000|C|F|sigfig=2}} and pressures of thousands of atmospheres accompanied the moment of detonation at the centre of the explosion.<ref name=nasa/>{{sfn|Ruffman|Howell|1994|p=277}} White-hot shards of iron fell down upon Halifax and Dartmouth.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=62}}

A cloud of white smoke rose to at least {{convert|3600|m|ft}}.<ref>The peak of the cloud was measured at 3,600 metres (11,811 feet or 2.25 miles) by Captain W. M. A. Campbell of the inbound Canadian merchant ship ''Acadian'', using a sextant approximately {{convert|28|km}} from the harbour approaches. {{harvnb|Ruffman|Howell|1994|p=323}}</ref> The blast was felt as far away as [[Cape Breton Island|Cape Breton]] ({{convert|207|km|disp=or}}) and [[Prince Edward Island]] ({{convert|180|km|disp=or}}).<ref name=nasa/>{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=63}} An area of over {{convert|1.6|km2|acre}} was completely destroyed by the explosion,{{sfn|Kitz|1989|p=25}} and the harbour floor was momentarily exposed by the volume of water that was displaced. A tsunami was formed by water surging in to fill the void;{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=66}} it rose as high as {{convert|18|m|-1}} above the high-water mark on the Halifax side of the harbour.{{sfn|Krehl|2007|p=459}} ''Imo'' was carried onto the shore at Dartmouth by the tsunami.{{sfn|Kitz|1989|p=26}} The blast killed all but one on the whaler, everyone on the pinnace and 21 of the 26 men on ''Stella Maris''; she ended up on the Dartmouth shore, severely damaged. The captain's son, First Mate Walter Brannen, who had been thrown into the hold by the blast, survived, as did four others.{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|pp=42–43}} All but one of ''Mont-Blanc'''s crew members survived.{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=47}}

The blast instantly killed more than 1,600 people and injured an additional 9,000, more than 300 of whom later died.<ref name=nasa/> It destroyed or badly damaged every building within a {{convert|2.6|km|mi|adj = on}} radius, over 12,000 in total.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=66}} Hundreds of people who had been watching the fire from their homes were blinded when the blast wave shattered the windows in front of them.{{sfn|Gilmour|2001|p=119}} Overturned stoves and lamps started fires throughout Halifax,{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=21}} particularly in the [[North End, Halifax|North End]], where entire city blocks burned, trapping residents inside their houses. Firefighter Billy Wells, who was thrown away from the explosion and had his clothes torn from his body, described the devastation survivors faced: "The sight was awful, with people hanging out of windows dead. Some with their heads missing, and some thrown onto the overhead telegraph wires." He was the only member of the eight-man crew of the fire engine ''Patricia'' to survive.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=71}}

Large brick and stone factories near Pier 6, such as the Acadia Sugar Refinery, disappeared into unrecognizable heaps of rubble, killing most of their workers.{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|p=42}} The [[Nova Scotia Cotton Manufacturing Company|Nova Scotia cotton mill]] located 1.5&nbsp;km (0.93 mile) from the blast was destroyed by fire and the collapse of its concrete floors.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=43}} The [[Royal Naval College of Canada]] building was badly damaged, and several cadets and instructors maimed.<ref>{{cite news|last=Chaplin |first=Charmion |url=http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/commun/ml-fe/article-eng.asp?id=2862 |title=The Royal Naval College of Canada Closes |work=The Maple Leaf |volume=9 |number=23 |date=14 June 2006 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401182805/http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/commun/ml-fe/article-eng.asp?id=2862 |archivedate=1 April 2012 }}</ref> The Richmond Railway Yards and station were destroyed, killing 55 railway workers and destroying and damaging over 500 railway cars. The [[North Street Station (Halifax)|North Street Station]], one of the busiest in Canada, was badly damaged.<ref name=smith>{{cite journal|author=Smith, Douglas|title=The Railways and Canada's Greatest Disaster: The Halifax Explosion, December 6, 1917|journal=Canadian Rail|issue=431|date=November–December 1992|pages=202&ndash;212}}</ref>

[[File:Panoramic view of damage to Halifax waterfront after Halifax Explosion, 1917.jpg|thumb|upright=3.4|center|alt=Panoramic view over traintracks to destroyed cityscape|View from the waterfront looking west from the ruins of the Sugar Refinery across the obliterated Richmond District several days after the explosion. The remains of Pier 6, site of the explosion, are on the extreme right.]]

The death toll could have been worse had it not been for the self-sacrifice of an Intercolonial Railway dispatcher, [[Vince Coleman (train dispatcher)|Patrick Vincent (Vince) Coleman]], operating at the railyard about {{convert|750|ft|m|order=flip}} from Pier 6, where the explosion occurred. He and his co-worker, William Lovett, learned of the dangerous cargo aboard the burning ''Mont-Blanc'' from a sailor and began to flee. Coleman remembered that an incoming passenger train from [[Saint John, New Brunswick]], was due to arrive at the railyard within minutes. He returned to his post alone and continued to send out urgent telegraph messages to stop the train. Several variations of the message have been reported, among them this from the [[Maritime Museum of the Atlantic]]: "Hold up the train. Ammunition ship afire in harbor making for Pier 6 and will explode. Guess this will be my last message. Good-bye boys." Coleman's message was responsible for bringing all incoming trains around Halifax to a halt. It was heard by other stations all along the Intercolonial Railway, helping railway officials to respond immediately.<ref name=conlin>{{cite web|url=https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/vincent-coleman-and-halifax-explosion|author=Conlin, Dan|title=Vincent Coleman and the Halifax Explosion|publisher=Maritime Museum of the Atlantic|accessdate=25 April 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510161551/https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/vincent-coleman-and-halifax-explosion|archivedate=10 May 2015}}</ref>{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|pp=1–3}} Passenger Train No. 10, the overnight train from Saint John, is believed to have heeded the warning and stopped a safe distance from the blast at [[Rockingham, Nova Scotia|Rockingham]], saving the lives of about 300 railway passengers. Coleman was killed at his post.<ref name=conlin/>