After allowing the empty tank to air out, the three-man cleaning crew was ordered to commence work.

While one of the men tried unsuccessfully to save Walsh, Smith gathered a rope and prepared to make his own rescue attempt.

[2] Short and stocky, Smith struggled to fit his 192-pound (87 kg) frame through the small hatch into the tank.

Making it through with great difficulty, he climbed to the bottom and tied the rope to Walsh's limp body.

An officer on the New York stated that "Smith not only saved the life of Walsh, who could not have been resuscitated if he had been allowed to remain any longer, but he took a very great risk of not being able to get back himself through the manhole on account of his being so stout.