History Through Our Eyes: Sept. 1, 1972, fire at the Blue Bird
On Sept. 1, 1972, a deliberately set fire took 37 lives at the Blue Bird Café and the Wagon Wheel Bar above it.
This photo was published in the following day’s Montreal Gazette, along with extensive coverage of the tragedy. Taken by either Tedd Church or Garth Pritchard — they were jointly credited with several photos — it shows the gutted interior of the Blue Bird, as viewed through a window.
“Witnesses say three men jump out of a grey car, rush up the stairs and run down again seconds before flames engulfed the entrance of the building,” we reported. The fire caught quickly, and blocked the stairwell.
We quoted survivor George Lancia’s description of the horrible scene: “There was lots of pitch black smoke then a lot of heat and then a lot of yellow light …. we knew it was a fire and everyone began to panic. There were so many people on the fire escape that the railing broke, people were falling from the sky, almost.”
The culprits were three young men angry at having been denied entrance. They came back and poured gasoline on the stairwell. One of them later explained that they did not mean to kill anybody, only to scare the doorman. They were convicted and received life sentences, although they were eventually released on parole.
In 2012, to mark the 40th anniversary of the fire, a monument was unveiled in nearby Phillips Square.
1 comment:
I remember this tragedy. So many people perished in this fire. I doubt the perpetrators meant for this tragedy to occur, but it’s a good lesson on cooling one’s emotions before acting. The outcome was horrendous.
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