The SS Noronic Fire Disaster Flashcards
1
Q
What is the history of the SS Noronic?
A
- Ship build in 1913 and launched in thunder bay
-Really popular among Ameircan tourists
• Regular season cruise:
-7 day trip from Detroit towards the west end of lake superior, had 5 decks and weighed 7k tons - Largest and most luxurious passenger liner on the great lakes
2
Q
What were the features?
A
- Hand carved and polished wood panelling all over the ship
- State rooms with carpet and beds
- All had running water and baths
- Grad dining room
- “B” deck was a beautiful overvation lounge and ballroom
- Library, music room, buffet bars, souvenir stands, barber shop, beauty salon, and a chapel
3
Q
What happened on Sept 16, 1949?
A
- SS Noronic sailed into Toronto Harbour at Pier #9
- Special post-season run; rarely came to Lake Erie or Ontario
- 525 passengers and 171 crew
- Once ship docked, it was tradition to let most of the crew go to party
- Only 15 crew members left on board (over half = engine room)
- Ship’s first officer, Gerald WOOD was in charge of the deck watch
- Captain had left for the evening for a dinner engagement
4
Q
Who was the captain?
A
- William Taylor
- Senior captain
- Named “Master of the Noronic” - the most prestigious position in the CSL
5
Q
What happened Sept 17th?
A
Setting the scene:
- Old, steel ship with wood paneling and lemon oil polish
- Large fuel load and not equipped with automatic fire detection equipment or heat- sensing sprinklers
- Manually operated alarm boxed (break the glass type) scattered randomly
- Alarm would then sound in the officer’s quarters on A deck
- Officer had to check, determine how serious the fire was, then go back to his office and sound the switch
- This would sound the Klaxon horns about the ship alerting both passengers and crew
- Fire patrols were cut-short with large section of the ship completely ignored
- The bridge of the Noronic - the ship’s command centre was deserted that evening
- Chronic problem with fire suppression equipment – couldn’t keep water pressure high enough to keep water coming out
- Modern ship to shore phone had been installed 3 weeks before fire, but no training had occurred
6
Q
What happened at 1230 am
A
- Shift change
- Still only a skeleton crew on board
- Onboard activities winding down for the evening
7
Q
What happened at 115 am
A
- Passenger Don CHURCH, who was a fire insurance specialist, left the lounge and was going to his stateroom on C deck
- Smelled and saw smoke
- Found smoke seeping from the rear port of the ship
- Door was locked
8
Q
What happened at 120 am
A
- Church went to get help, finds bell boy Garth O’Neill, a 19 y/o from Montreal
- Pair returned and found smoke was thicker
- They were concerned about a possible back raft to the fire
- Garth opened door and found pillow cases and sheets burning
- He went to get an extinguisher but it didn’t work
- Fire hose was grabbed but didn’t work
9
Q
What was the bizarre twist?
A
- Captain Taylor returned to escort family friend to her room on “C” deck
- He was just forward of the linen closet
10
Q
What happened at 127 am?
A
- Garth was panicing and went down to E deck to find crew
- That crew member went up to “A” deck to sound alarm, which was initially broken
- Crew member alerted off-duty First Officer Wood
- Klaxon horn and whistle were sounded
11
Q
What happened at 130’s am?
A
- Police, fire and ambulance were called
* Panic and confusion among passengers trapped on board; some were asleep in their staterooms
12
Q
What happened at 141am?
A
- Toronto Fire Department’s first rigs appeared on scene
- Fire had been going for ~15 minutes
- FATAL TIME ERROR
- Passengers had to choose to jump off the pier or into the harbour or burn to death
- Rescue ladder fire department had put up snapped
- Ronald ANDERSON and Warren SHADDOCK showed up
- Then two more officers (Cole and Soplet)
- Most officers were veterans; used to dealing with chaos
- Officers ended up using a painter’s raft that they found to get people to safety
- Pier was littered with injured and dying passengers – many had 2nd and 3rd degree burns, broken bones, and internal burns
- Pier itself was on fire
- Two ships nearby had to escape to the open harbour so they didn’t ignite
- Heat was so intense that the water being sprayed just turned into steam
- Thousands of gallons of water were being poured onto the ship, but it just ended up pooling in the bottom floors
13
Q
What happened at 230am
A
- ~50 passengers were rescued from the harbour water by police and water taxi crew
- After a while, there was no one left to rescue
- Only passengers left on board were dead
- Focus shifted to the living and injured
- Not enough police cards and ambulances to transport victims
- The city’s taxi drivers banded together and ran a shuttle service for victims
- One person drowned
- There were fatalities in hospital
- All hospitals filled up quickly
- One women split her skull jumping from the boat onto the pier
14
Q
What happened at 330am?
A
- SS Noronic took a sharp list and sank
* Fire suppression efforts continued all night
15
Q
What happened at 7am?
A
- Hours before ship was able to be boarded
- Toronto fire crews were first to board ship
- Harbour waters were strewn with debris and the entire ship was hutted by fire
- Firemen were confronted with devastation and death
- Huge scope of the fire – mass casualties!
- Bodies everywhere, most found near exits and stairways
- Bodies were all mixed and unrecognizable
16
Q
Describe the aftermath.
A
- News spreads fast
- Canada Steamline blamed passengers
- Toronto stepped up and started giving stuff out
- Toronto City Police began investigating, mainly looking to determine the cause of the fire, and determine who is who
- Some additional victims were found
- Large amoutn of jewellery, personal property and human bones and clothing were found and sent to morgues
17
Q
Describe identifying the dead.
A
• Within 24h, 113 bodies were removed from the ship and went to the temporary morgue and horticulture building
• Beginning of the formalization of Toronto Police Identification
• Only 20 bodies had enough fingers left for fingerprints -> 13 were identified
-In the end, of 119 deceased parties, all but 4 were identified
-Those 4 were travelling under assumed names and were buried in Mount Pleasant
18
Q
What were the problems with the disaster?
A
- From testimony, it was clear that nobody was trained to deal with fire suppression, and that the ship itself was a fire trap
- Nobody considered that something would happen on the harbour
- No formal rescue plan
- Bellhop opened door without getting more help
- Captain was held responsible for the disaster and the CSL was charged with ignorance
