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The Noronic was launched in June of 1913 in Port Arthur, Ontario, for the Northern Navigation Co., which merged that same year with the Richelieu and Ontario Line to form the Canada Steamship Line. Her cabins were fitted out the following winter in Sarnia, Ontario. At the time of her launch, she was the largest excursion steamer on the lakes. Before entering service in 1914, she was found to be slightly unstable so, following the completion of her first season, her beam was increased by six feet at American Shipbuilding’s Lorain dry dock to resolve the problem. The modifications proved to be successful and she operated without incident for more than three decades, sailing from Windsor, Detroit, and Sarnia to Duluth.
In the late summer of 1949 hundreds of passengers boarded the Noronic – or the “Norey,” as she was affectionately known – for a relaxing cruise from Detroit to the Thousand Islands Region of the St. Lawrence River. On the afternoon of September 16th, she docked in Toronto for an overnight stay so passengers could enjoy the city. Shortly after midnight a fire broke out in a linen closet on the Promenade Deck. The cause of the fire was never determined. It spread very quickly as passengers struggled to reach the ship’s only two gangways – located on E Deck – and the safety of the dock below. Most of the crew had left the Noronic to enjoy a night on the town, so only a few (15 of the 171) were on hand to assist the passengers. No crew members were lost in the disaster. By the time the Toronto fire department arrived at the dock, the Noronic was engulfed in flames. So much water was pumped onto the boat to fight the fire that she took on a severe list and finally settled to the lake bottom. In the end, 118 passengers lost their lives in what remains Toronto’s deadliest disaster.
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