February
1, 2007
Ralph Noble: Firefighter, Lifesaver and
Creator of the Most Famous Mural in the Beach – A Noble Man
Indeed
Michael Prue’s office has been
a great source of interview contacts and connected me with some
very unique people. On this cold February morning I made the trek
into the Beach to meet another one of Michael’s suggested
interviewees: Ralph Noble, a long-term fire-fighter with a deep
local attachment and some very interesting stories to tell.
Ralph welcomed me into his living room and in a quiet, modest way
started to respond to my questions. His attachments to the Beach
run deep: Ralph’s dad was born in 1918 and lived on a local
street called Willow Avenue. Ralph himself spent his formative years
around Warden and Kingston Road. After living for some time in the
suburban communities of Sutton and Alliston Ralph moved back into
Toronto, and right into the Beach. He met his wife Lida at a dance
at the Balmy Beach Club and just
got married last December.
Ralph Noble
His first job was as a life guard at the Leuty Lifesaving Station.
In the mid 1970s Ralph joined the Toronto Harbour Police which later
became the Metro Police Marine Unit. In 1982 he left the police
services and became a fire fighter. Ralph explained that today most
fire fighters take two or three year long college programs and only
about 20 to 30 applicants out of 1000 are actually hired. Before
they even start, many of the trainees already have medical training,
defibrillation, first aid certificates and a Class D drivers licence.
Then they undergo a ten to twelve week long training program that
also includes high angle rescue, which essentially means rappelling
down the walls of an office tower. Auto extrication, as it would
become necessary during a motor vehicle accident, is also part of
the training.
For eight to nine years, Ralph Noble worked in a heavy rescue truck
and was involved in water rescue, high angle rescue and specialized
works for the Mississauga Fire Department. In his spare time he
plays hockey on a fire fighters team, and he sometimes gets to play
against his colleagues from the local Fire Station 227.
With the Toronto Harbour Police Ralph participated in numerous
water and boat rescues. During his tenure with the Harbour Police
there was a 100 foot observation tower at the foot of Reese Street.
He added that doing night shift by yourself on the tower was not
a lot of fun. Today cameras are facilitating the surveillance process.
A harrowing boat rescue in freezing temperatures
Ralph specifically remembers one boat rescue at the National Yacht
Club one year in the month of April. Gale force winds were howling
and one boat, originally anchored by three lines, had almost torn
loose as two lines were broken. The temperatures were so cold that
the boat was starting to get covered in ice. Ralph tried to rig
it, but that did not work, so he had to jump onto the boat to secure
it. Braving the Arctic wind and the bone-chilling temperatures he
successfully leaped on the boat and attached the mooring line. His
artful boat rescue was caught on camera by a Globe and Mail photographer.
One time in Mississauga, Ralph and his colleagues had to rescue
some of their colleagues who had rolled over in their fire truck.
A vehicle had cut off the truck which caused it to roll over and
trap three fire fighters underneath the truck. Being able to rescue
his colleagues’ life is one of Ralph’s most meaningful
memories.
The next story illustrates that a fire fighter is never off duty.
Ralph was taking a walk with his dog Fiona at the bottom of Kenilworth
Avenue in minus ten degree temperatures. All of a sudden he heard
a cry, so he stopped; then he heard another cry. Ralph saw a woman’s
head bobbing up and down in the icy water, and concluded that this
was a suicide attempt. Ralph shouted to the woman whether she would
be able to swim to him while another passer-by called 911.
Saving a life at the foot of Kenilworth Avenue
The woman was not able to help herself and was virtually immobilized
from severe hypothermia. Ralph immediately took off his jacket and
shoes and swam out to her in five degree water. To rescue the woman,
Ralph tossed her his dog leash to which she held on and slowly came
on shore. Ralph himself was in the freezing water up to his nose.
Once they got into three foot deep water, Ralph walked her back
to the boardwalk by which time the first police car had arrived.
Two ambulances showed up on the scene and the first one took the
woman to the hospital. Ralph was taken to the other ambulance to
warm up, and he also was suffering from serious hypothermia. He
smiles and adds “There was definite shrinkage that day.”
He got to spend the entire day at home to slowly warm up his body
to recover.
Ralph’s heroic act drew major attention from all across the
city, and he received numerous awards for his bravery. Among many
other honours, he was given the Ontario Provincial Firefighters’
Award of Bravery, handed out by Lieutenant Governor James K. Bartleman.
Ralph Noble also received the 2005 Merit Award as Firefighter of
the Year and the Fire Chief’s Citation for Valor.
Receiving an award from Police Chief Bill Blair with his wife Lida
Another one of Ralph’s significant memories is the 1981 sinking
of the Captain John, which was a restaurant ship permanently anchored
at the foot of Yonge Street in Toronto. Its original name was Normac,
a ship that had served with the Detroit Fire Department and as a
ferry between Tobermory and Manitoulin Island. After being struck
by one of the Metro ferries, the restaurant boat took on water and
a crew of workers was able to keep it upright for several days with
pumps. Ralph and his colleagues also went in with additional pumps,
but the ship was overcome with water and sank. Several of the Toronto
Harbour Police divers including Ralph had to dive in a few days
later to salvage the pumps.
A big legal battle ensued between the city and the restaurant owner,
and in the end a new “Captain John” was created, using
the MS Jadran, a former Adriatic cruise ship, which is
now permanently anchored at the foot of Yonge Street. The Normac
meanwhile was raised and is now used as a floating restaurant in
other communities.
The sinking of the Captain John
Ralph himself has been drawn to the water all his life and got
his captain’s license. With his masters licence he is able
to operate boats up to 60 tons in the Toronto Harbour. Ralph also
works part-time as a captain for the Kwasind and the Hiawatha,
two of the oldest boats in Toronto that serve as private ferries
to shuttle members of Royal Canadian Yacht Club back and forth to
their Island Clubhouse.
But Ralph’s talents extend beyond life-saving and captaining.
Ralph Noble is a gifted artist and has completed numerous signs
for stores and cottages. One of his favourite projects was a sign
for a Mississauga park that was going to be dedicated to one of
Canada’s most famous hockey players: Johnny Bower. Ralph refers
to Johnny as “his hero”, and he handmade a sign saying
“Johnny Bower Park” which was put up at the park's gate
to honour his hero. Ralph even had a chance to meet the hockey star
himself and invited him to his house. He says it was a thrill to
meet his idol.
Ralph's sign for Johnny Bower Park
Ralph’s artistic pièce-de-résistance, however,
and something that will link him to the Beach forever, is the famous
“Legend by the Lake” mural at the Balmy
Beach Club. For the 100th anniversary of the club’s founding
in 2005 Ralph had created a banner which he donated to the club
to be used at the Easter Parade. Several magnetic signs were also
produced from his design.
Throughout 2005 there were several meetings with the Balmy Beach
Club’s administrators because they were planning to revitalize
and decorate the wall fronting the Boardwalk. Based on his earlier
design, Ralph created a huge mural that stretches more than 140
feet horizontally across the building’s wall. He primed the
wall, and did the layout work overnight, using an overhead projector
which enlarged and displayed his design against the surface (and
attracted every bug in the world). The mural took him about three
months of work, and at the end Ralph Noble had created one of the
true landmarks in the Beach.
The making of the Balmy Beach Mural
Ralph’s wife joined us and affectionately called him “Sign
Santa” for all his charitable design and sign projects. Alluding
to his shyness, she also refers to him as a “reluctant smiler”,
and discloses that Ralph’s looks often remind people of Pat
Quinn, Toronto’s hockey coach, or Bill Clinton.
Ralph Noble is certainly a hero, many times over, and now he has
a permanent place in the Beach.
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