September 2024 marked the 75th anniversary of the fire that destroyed the passenger ship S. S. Noronic in the early morning of Sat. Sept. 17th, 1949, while it was docked at the old Pier 9 in Toronto harbour. Of the 524 passengers on board, 119 died.

The first engine of the Toronto Fire Department arrived just 3 minutes after Captain Taylor had been informed of the fire. The height of the flames caused him to authorize response to a 3-alarm fire, which ordered into action 16 more rigs and Toronto harbour’s two fire boats. But, the fire was beyond suppression. The ship with its lemon-oil-polished corridors of panelling had exploded into an inferno. “It was just like a big chimney, and the fire went through there like hell.”