Eventually all the other firefighters withdrew except George Campbell Henderson, a sub-officer with the dockyard fire service, who doggedly held a firehose into the fire. An explosion in the lighter caused a fire which spread to the Bedenham, triggering a violent explosion in which the bow was blown out of the water and onto Gun Wharf, while the rest of the ship sank.
Eventually, all other firefighters departed except George Campbell Henderson, a subordinate officer in the dockyard fire service, who stubbornly held a hose against the flames. An explosion from a lighter ignited a blaze that spread to the Bedenham, causing a violent blast that blew off the bow of the ship and onto Gun Wharf while the rest sank beneath the waves.