Fire last week destroyed Canada Steamship Lines (CSL) SS Quebec, resulting in the loss of one of the famous cruise ships that regularly ply the St.Lawrence River between Montreal and Chicoutimi.

The ship was in the middle of the St.Lawrence River, still a ways out from the Tadoussac wharf when thick smoke began coming out of the upper deck. The flames spread rapidly and Captain Cyril Birch was faced with a terrible decision.

The first option was to let the passengers off in lifeboats and attempt to fight the fire in the middle of the river. The second choice was to steam full throttle to the nearest wharf to let the passengers off on dry land before attempting to put out the fire. The first option would risk the loss of life in the frigid waters of the St. Lawrence. The second choice might risk fanning the flames out of control.

“It’s the kind of choice you hope you will never have to make,” Capt. Birch said. “However, if my ship had been further out from the wharf, there might not have been any choice at all. That would have been a disaster and people would surely have died.”

Capt. Birch chose the second option, and set a course for the nearest wharf at Tadoussac. Volunteer first responders on the scene when the “SS Quebec” arrived agree with his assessment. “Had Capt. Birch chosen to fight the fire in the middle of the St. Lawrence, the result would have been much worse.” said Tadoussac physician and longtime resident Dr. Francois Lapointe.

The ship was carrying 480 passengers and 150 crew members when the mishap occurred. Everyone got off the ship safely in Tadoussac and only a few minor injuries have been reported.

Flames continued to burn throughout the night right down to the waterline and the ship has been destroyed completely. The wharf has also sustained damage.

Investigators from Canada Steamship Lines offices in Montreal arrived the following day and have determined the cause of the fire to be arson.Police are asking any witnesses to come forward so that they can locate the perpetrator.

The “Quebec” was one of a fleet of CSL cruise ships that sail up the Saguenay fjord each week from mid-June to mid-September. They leave ports in Montreal and Quebec City and carry vacationing passengers up the Saguenay fjord as far as Chicoutimi and back again. Other ships in the line include the “Richelieu”, the “Saguenay” and the “Tadoussac”. The wharf at Tadoussac is one of the regular ports of call on the voyage.