Fire
The fire started at Pier 3, that much is known. However it must have started, a North German Lloyd watchman who is mentioned in many sources, William Northmaid, first noticed the smoke from coming from the pier. He first saw the fire at 3:55 P.M., but had to get to a telephone to report it. The Hoboken Fire Department Headquarters, which was only two blocks away, logged his report at 4:01 P.M.. Another account, given by former Captain Max Moeller who was now the Chief Inspector of the North German Lloyd piers in Hoboken, stated that the fire had started at 3:45 P.M. In any case, the fire spread quickly, mainly due to the stiff breeze, the old dry wood, and the years of dust that had accumulated from the various cargos that had been in the pier sheds. The wood had been absorbing it for years. Only Pier 1 had a steel frame. It was fairly new and was built in 1897 for the arrival and service of the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse.

With the wind driving the fire very rapidly, the flames jumped from the pier sheds to the barges and lighters, and then from the barges and lighters to the ships. Many sources state that everything was ablaze in the span of ten to twenty minutes. The Lloyd's Chief Inspector, Max Moeller, went to the end of one of the piers to summon the aid of tugboats to pull the large ships out. During this time he had ordered that important paperwork and money be rushed out of the burning pier offices.

A Disaster Seen By Many
This fire would be notable for more than the damage it caused, for an estimated one million people living in the area observed it. The smoke cloud that rose up from the fire was so large that it was noticeable for miles. Many people who had gone to the beaches in New Jersey quickly turned their attention to it. Likewise, those living in the tall buildings of Manhattan were able to see it clearly. So did the press. There are actually many pictures that were taken of the fire as it was happening, and many more of the ruins and destruction, taken over the following days. So many people had rarely seen a fire such as this at once.

The Tugboats
Many Tugboats were now on their way to rescue the great ships. By now, the first of the ships to catch fire, the Saale, had started to drift away from her pier, ablaze. Her crew had quickly cast off her lines but the fire had already leaped onto the ship. Some of her crew was seen hanging over the side of the ship, some on the rudder. Of these, the tugboats and other harbor boats rescued some. Some, who had grown exhausted, slipped away and drowned. It is important to quickly mention that even though so many worked near the water, many did not know how to swim. Many of the pier workers (longshoremen) and stevedores had died this way. Some tried to escape from the burning piers by running through the fire towards Hoboken, and others had no choice but to jump from the burning piers.

Next. The Bremen had caught fire, suffering a similar fate as the Saale, drifting slowly and ablaze. Then the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was next. It was decided that she should be rescued first, having some of the weekend tourists aboard, and for her value as the flagship of the North German Lloyd. She was already in a rearward motion through the use of her winches, and the Tugs were ordered by Mr. Moeller to save her first. Two tugs began to pull the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse from her stern, but she was still held by one line by the bow. A brave sailor, Eric Sorenson, had climbed down across the rope; hand over hand, to the pier. He released it and was actually able to escape through the flames. Cheers were heard from the ship as she started to be pulled backwards at about 4:10 P.M. Her bow had caught fire from a burning coal barge that was lashed to her bow as she was pulled into the middle of the Hudson River. Several tugboats were diligently working with their fire hoses to put those fires out and also a small fire that was on her stern. The ships' officers and men had also quickly put out many smaller fires with their uniforms and by other means. The order aboard the ship was exemplary, as Captain Engelbart stood silently on the bridge of the ship, with two pistols drawn. Due to the timely actions of her disciplined crew and the help of the many tugboats that came to her service, no lives were lost on the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse that day. Her damage was minimal by comparison with the other ships. Over 200 feet of paint on the starboard side of her hull had been burned away, mostly from her bow area. The glass in many portholes had burst from the heat, and some things made of wood such as deck planking and lifeboats had been burned. The ship then proceeded upstream to about 46th street off of Manhattan and anchored there.

Unfortunately the story was very different for the other three ships.

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