The day of the fire was also the August Civic Holiday, and the fact that it was a daytime fire, kept injuries to a minimum. Huge crowds gathered at Pitt & Second and Pitt & Third Streets—to watch. Notice the trolley car stalled in the crowd. During regular business days, the streetcar rails were also used by the railway to carry goods to-and-from the canal bank storage sheds. The fire broke out on the very day Legion Branch 297 had invested most of its capital into a highly popular track and field meet. Instead of going to the meet crowds raced to the heart of Pitt Street to watch as strong winds drove the fire through the downtown.