SS Fleurus: The Day the Circus Ship Caught Fire

I decided to cover this ship because of Shirley. You will meet Shirley halfway through the article. The SS Fleurus disaster was a remarkable rescue in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. In 1963, a converted passenger and freight ship carrying the Al G. Kelly and Miller Brothers Circus caught fire at the wharf and began sinking. Town residents, firefighters, and circus workers suddenly found themselves trying to rescue not only people, but elephants, lions, horses, zebras, and other animals from a burning ship.

Fleurus was built in France in 1926 for Canada’s Anticosti Shipping Company. She was launched on March 28, 1926, and completed the following month. Long before her unusual career as a circus ship, she carried passengers and cargo through the Gulf and along the St. Lawrence, including service to Anticosti Island.

In 1963, the Al G. Kelly and Miller Brothers Circus bought the aging Fleurus and refitted her as a floating base for a Canadian coastal tour. Instead of moving everything overland, the circus could sail its performers, equipment, and animals directly from one port town to another. Spaces aboard the ship were adapted for the performers and a menagerie that included big cats, horses, zebras, and three adult elephants. To complete the transformation, the hull was painted the circus’s vivid orange.

After two shows in Yarmouth, Fleurus was being loaded for the short trip to Shelburne when a fire broke out in the engine room. Smoke quickly spread through the ship, and firefighters rushed to the wharf. But fighting a fire aboard a ship creates another problem. The tremendous amount of water being pumped aboard had nowhere to go. As water accumulated inside Fleurus, her stability worsened and she began listing toward the wharf. The firefighters were battling the flames while the water they needed to save the ship was also helping pull her down.

That list may have helped save some of the animals. With the ship leaning close enough to shore, rescuers laid heavy planks between the deck and the wharf and began leading the elephants across. One of those elephants was named Shirley. A crane was used to lift animal cages from the upper deck while firefighters stood nearby in case any of the frightened big cats escaped. At one point, a sling carrying a cage containing two lions broke, but the cage held and the lions survived.

There were other close calls. A horse named Sparkle escaped into the harbor and became trapped beneath the wharf. Circus worker Bob Dawson went into the water and managed to guide the frightened horse back out. A Brahma bull also ended up in the water and swam to shore.

All the performers and almost every animal survived. One zebra, trapped below deck as the ship settled, was the only animal fatality recorded by the Nova Scotia Archives. Fleurus was eventually towed away and deliberately sunk, while the circus lost much of its equipment and possessions. Today, the story is remembered less for the loss of the ship than for what happened beside that Yarmouth wharf, where firefighters, circus workers, and local residents came together to save animals from a burning and sinking vessel.

One of the most remarkable survivors of Fleurus wasn’t a person at all. Shirley was an Asian elephant born in 1948 who spent about twenty years performing in circuses. Her life after Fleurus would become a story of its own. She survived a badly broken leg in 1974, and three years later was moved to the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo, where she lived as the zoo’s only elephant for 22 years.

By 1999, Shirley was getting older, and her caretakers wanted her to have more room and, perhaps more importantly, the company of other elephants. Her longtime caretaker, Solomon James, accompanied her to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

Something remarkable happened after she arrived. Shirley immediately showed an extraordinary reaction to another elephant named Jenny. The two strained to reach one another through the bars separating their stalls. It was eventually discovered that Shirley and Jenny had performed together in the same circus 24 years earlier. They appeared to remember each other.

For the next seven years, Shirley and Jenny were nearly inseparable. Their reunion and relationship were featured in the PBS documentary The Urban Elephant. Shirley remained at the Tennessee sanctuary for the rest of her long life. She died there in 2021 at the age of 72. The timeline of Shirley PLUS her time in Fidel Castro’s Cuba.

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46 thoughts on “SS Fleurus: The Day the Circus Ship Caught Fire”

    1. Thanks Nancy…this was fun and different to write up. I need…and I think everyone needs a break from the sorrow at times. I thought it was going to end bad…and then to know she ended up in Tennessee.

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    1. Thank you for reading Dana! This was nice to write up for a change of pace…I love Shirley and the fact she ended up in Tennessee

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  4. Yes, Max, you got the story right. Shirley is the star of this week’s post. What a great story. Brought a smile to my face.

    THANKS

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  5. Oh, how I love this post! It has everything! Courageous, beautiful animals in danger…brave humans determined to save them (and other humans)…and an increasable, secondary story of a majestic elephant and her reunion with one of her former circus mates with a Tennessee tie in! Fantastic! And then there’s the ship, an uninspired (as in, God didn’t design this this vessel, hence, etc…) modern day Noah’s ark, transporting circus animals…and there’s a fire!…it’s epic.

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    1. Thanks for reading Pam… I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this before. The story wrote itself…it had everything…plus a visit to Cuba under Fidel’s reign… Shirley saw the world…the part about her and Jenny was the topper. The more I read, the better it got.

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  6. Shirley and Jenny certainly were the lucky ones to be reunited after so much time, but we’re just as lucky to have read their story here, Max. A great post to start off my weekend – thank you for sharing this!

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  7. what an amazing story, i’ve never heard of this and so wonderful that most all of the animals survived. the story of shirley is so touching and sweet

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  8. incredible! I’ve never heard of this, nor of a ‘circus ship’! Hats off to the various people who took part and got almost all the animals out OK , not to mention all the staff. Getting elephants off a sinking ship, that’s something above and beyond! (Though the firefighters etc who were involved would have the ultimate bar story for the next five years or so!) It seems like an elephant really doesn’t forget. It’s good Shirley and Jenny ended up reunited down the road. Great story!

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    1. Thanks for reading Dave! People don’t think about a fire on a ship but it’s deadly. The more water you drench it with…the more you are sinking yourself…literally.
      What a story though…Shirley was the star of this one no doubt. The story about Shirley and Jenny was incredible…after all of those years. I’m going to find out how old Jenny was…I think she was older than Shirley.

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      1. yeah, I would never have thought of the logistics of a big fire onboard. I suppose today they might try alternate methods like Co2 or some sort of foam as opposed to just gallons of water… maybe?

      2. Yes…of course with animals…you would have to be careful…but yes…a regular ship…I would say so. I never thought of that either! They were basically sinking their ship. This was not unique to this ship either…one major ocean liner rolled over because of a list made by water.

      3. sinking in harbors, uncontrolled outbreaks of stomach viruses (nora virus and such), staff not controlled by any laws when out on international waters, impossible to be fire-safe and sink-proof at same time. I’ll keep my water vessel activities limited to Yacht Rock Radio, I think

      4. I wouldn’t go on a cruise but transatlantic? Oh yes…I would go. I would rather do that than fly. But you would have to have the time to do it. They don’t have the fast ships anymore like the US United States…3 days. Now it’s like 7

  9. This one has a lot of different emotional elements to it. The poor animals, trapped in circus life, almost drown, but then are saved — to return to their imprisoned lifestyle. The elephant reunion at the sanctuary is a bright spot.

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    1. Yes the Jenny and Shirley reunion was my favorite part. That validated me covering it…I didn’t know Tennessee had an Elephant Sanctuary… I would love to see it. I’m glad that people worked together and got them off.

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      2. I can’t! I found out that it’s not open to the public. They keep humans away from that area as well. Only the ones are the ones that take care of them…the Elephants have 3000 acres to roam. Which…hey….I like that, Lisa. I wish I could see it…but I totally get it.
        Here is what I found: The physical habitats at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee in Hohenwald are closed to the public to protect the animals’ privacy and well-being. However, visitors can explore interactive exhibits and watch live-streaming cameras at the public Elephant Discovery Center located downtown

      4. This is one hell of a story Max, one I had zero clue about! So thanks for that, there’s a lot to follow up. It’s ‘feel good’ without all that Readers Digest soppy sentimentality weighing it down.

      5. Me either obbverse! I can’t believe it’s not more out there. I mean…it probably had more twist and turns than any other story I’ve had…except it has a happy ending. Shirley was the star though…kidnapped, circus, Fidel Castro, burning ship, auto accident, broke her leg, and on and on.

      1. I go by Wendy sometimes. Lets make a film. No CGI or any of that shit. Can you imagine the logistics. Just roll the camera and lets go! “No animals were hurt during the filming of ‘Shirley’ but everyone did get a little we”

      2. Oh man…it would be a good story for a movie…really.
        Putting out the fire almost/did sink the ship. Just a wee bit wet!

  11. Elephants are amazing creatures. I must watch the whole PBS video. The one you posted was incredible. Any story involving animals will draw most people in.

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    1. Yes it will because unlike a lot of people… they are innocent…
      I gained a new respect for that sanctuary down here…because they are not open to the public so the elephants can roam on their own….which is cool for them. Thank you for reading!

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  12. A story within a story within a story! I had never heard of this. I think going forward we can assume all of these posts will be news to me. You covered off all aspects and the description of the animal rescues, quite amazing they were able to do that.

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    1. Thanks Randy. Shirley was the reason I covered it. She was the star….The ship is not important…but it hit me…hmmm ship on fire….pour water on it….sink ship.
      Next week I bet you will have heard of it. A huge famous shipwreck.

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      1. Looking forward to it. For what it’s worth I have been to Yarmouth, years ago and not for long mind you. I didn’t see any monument to Shirley. She certainly deserves one!

      2. I didn’t know she ended up in Tennessee! In Yarmouth they do have a small museum there I think with some of the items from this event. I have alot of Canada in these upcoming stories…one steamboat that you can go visit built in the early 1900s.

  14. An incredible story it’s amazing that only one animal actually perished- and the story of Shirley and Jenny is sad yet in the end a happy one thanks for sharing 💜

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  15. What was at the start a sad story turned around and had a good ending. Amazing how all those animals were saved for the most part. I also did not know elephants could live to 72. Another great read Max!

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