On the day that San Francisco commemorates the 102^nd anniversary of the 1906 earthquake, a survivor of the tragic event, aged 105, attended the ceremony.

Herbert Hamrol was helped by police and firefighters to arrive safely and comfortably at Lotta’s Fountain, where the commemoration took place Friday morning.

Hamrol was transported in an immaculate vintage car, and told the people gathered at the event stories about the time when the earthquake occurred and he was saved by his family.

In the past years, dozens of old women and men who had survived the cataclysm were present at the commemoration, but this year, Hamrol was the only survivor to attend it.

More than 100 people attended the ceremony, which was scheduled for 5:12 a.m., the exact time that the earthquake hit the city 102 years ago, as fire officials declared.

"We want to commemorate the people who lost their lives in 1906 and celebrate the strength of the people who rebuilt the city from the ruins," said San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Mayor Gavin Newsom, who was also invited, laid a wreath on Lotta’s Fountain and called for a moment of silence.

The anniversary wouldn’t have taken place this year if Hamrol had not contacted Donna Ewald Huggins, the organizer of several previous celebrations, wondering if the event had been completely forgotten by the city.

"I thought, if a 105-year-old man can make it at 5 in the morning, so can I," Huggins said.

"Can you imagine how guilty I felt? More than twice my age and I'm almost thinking about not going," she added.

So she contacted the Fire Department and Chief Hayes-White agreed to attend the ceremony and say a few words.