[1] Each year, a house of wood and canvas three storeys, or about 40 feet (12 m) high, was built in the park as the venue for a mock wedding reception at which two firemen, costumed as a bride and groom, would be entertaining their "guests": other firemen, Royal Naval Cadets from the nearby Chatham unit of the Volunteer Cadet Corps, and Sea Scouts.

[1] The display would involve the simulated break out of a small fire necessitating the rescue of the occupants from the upper levels of the building.

[1] After the mock wedding, the six men and nine boys aged between 10 and 14 were ready to enact their staged rescue when the real fire was accidentally lit; the cause is unknown.

Other firefighters were immediately aware that they were now dealing with a genuine emergency rather than a demonstration, but initially most of the spectators did not realize anything was amiss, taking the cries for help they heard to be part of the performance, and reportedly cheering and applauding what they believed to be realistic and spectacular effects until they witnessed two boys with their clothing ablaze jump to their deaths from the top of the structure.

[3] Two victims were rescued alive, but both died of their injuries in the hospital, St Bartholomew's, for which they had been intending to raise funds, bringing the final death toll to 15.