Comments on: The Day the Bridge Fell Down

By: Eve Lazarus

Eve Lazarus — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 00:18:50 +0000

In reply to Christopher Leonard Mott. He must have been very young. So tragic for your family

By: Christopher Leonard Mott

Christopher Leonard Mott — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 18:56:53 +0000

My Grandpa, Leonard Keith Mott was the diver who passed away on that fateful day.

By: M Procaccini

M Procaccini — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 22:15:46 +0000

Thanks for this great article helping to keep the memory of these brave talented workers who sacrificed to build such an important infrastructure that still benefits us all today.

With so many projects named after rich elitists, politicians, monarchs, etc. it’s quite healing to finally see a major icon named after the productive workers and staff who do the work and take the real risks that make such marvels happen. Thank you again for this article and thanks to all the families and good folks who attend the annual memorial at the bridge.

By: Dave Gibbs

Dave Gibbs — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 16:58:31 +0000

I remember arriving home from work that afternoon less than 3 months after my wife and I emigrated from England. My neighbour told me, I guess you heard the new bridge collapsed. I thought he was joking but then realized I wasn’t surprised having seen the huge cranes suspended out over the water. It didn’t look right but I thought they must know what they are doing. We went to the Memorial Service held at the Bridge.

By: Heather Holmstrom

Heather Holmstrom — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 00:21:01 +0000

Thank you for sharing Eve, your dad I believe was my dads partner on the bridge, my dad also an ironworker Carl Holmstrom. God saved him that day.
I am so sorry for your loss.

By: Eve Lazarus

Eve Lazarus — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 14:40:24 +0000

In reply to Kristine Atkinson. I'm so sorry

By: Kristine Atkinson

Kristine Atkinson — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 23:37:58 +0000

My grandfather (Syd Stewart), my father (Wayne Stewart), and my uncle (Alan Stewart), all worked on this bridge at different times. My uncle Alan died in the collapse, the diver died looking for his body. They never found my uncle’s body. The only body not recovered.
Our entire family was affected by the loss of my uncle. My dad went on to work for Dominion Bridge for many many years. He had PTSD, which was never diagnosed back in those days. He always felt extreme survivors guilt, because his brother never wanted to be an ironworker. He did it because his brother and father did.
My family very, very rarely spoke of this incident.

By: Gerda Doward

Gerda Doward — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 19:09:38 +0000

My grand father was here from Denmark and was one of the men working on the bridge when it collapsed. He also helped 3 men that were in the water. I always remember the stories that were told about this day.

By: Roger Harris

Roger Harris — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 16:09:38 +0000

In reply to Bob Hawkins. My neibour died in the collapse I was 4 years old I can only remember screaming coming from their home when the family was informed His name was Mr.Chance Sad Day,,,🙏🙏I also worked many years in the 1970,1980 For DOMINIÒN BRIDGE

By: Roger Harris

Roger Harris — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 16:07:01 +0000

In reply to Ruth Enns. My neibour died in the collapse I was 4 years old I can only remember screaming coming from their home when the family was informed His name was Mr.Chance Sad Day,,,🙏🙏

By: Glen

Glen — Sat, 18 Jun 2022 03:25:08 +0000

We were living on the water front at the end of Burard Inlet,Dad and 3 of his friends were always boating and on that day they were down on the beach when they herd what happened.Dad and 2 others were divers and they had there gear in the boats headed out to help, they never really spoke of that day either

By: Zol Fox

Zol Fox — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 13:48:14 +0000

In reply to Eve Lazarus.

Eve, thanks for all your insightful articles on this Vancouver region…
Been a fan for over 40 years…
Zol Fox

By: Gloria (Fraser) Huston

Gloria (Fraser) Huston — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 00:12:59 +0000

My Dad worked on this bridge as he was a welder and saw the whole span go down, he lost a lot of friends that day and was late coming home from work. When my Mom asked him why he said the bridge had collapsed and he saw it while he was at work on the other end. He then cried and I will never forget that day. I went to Burnaby South High at the time and 3 of my friends lost their dad’s. What a horrid day. So very sad! Thank you for this story Eve!

By: Mary Newman

Mary Newman — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 19:57:51 +0000

I was 6 at the time and on our sundeck in North Van; heard a loud noise coming from the site and could see plums of ?smoke/debris from the site. My Dad worked at the Hooker Chemicals plant by the bridge; I was initially thinking it was his plant blowing up. My Dad was at work and he jumped into a boat that was available and they rushed over to pull men out of the water. I always look at the pictures taken that day to see if I can see him helping :).

By: Evan Wickens

Evan Wickens — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 22:19:21 +0000

My mom and I were driving (she was driving, I was sitting with the passenger window open) to Burnaby. We were at the toll booth plaza when it went down. We had just left paying our toll when the man in the booth came running after us saying we couldn’t keep going. We had heard a loud cracking and a loud whooshing sound. We had gone far enough that we could see what happened. Both of us were really shaken and my mom turned the car around and we went back home on the north shore. It’s never left my memory.

By: Bruce Stewart

Bruce Stewart — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 19:54:24 +0000

Thank you Robert and Peter for the correction. My dad, Angus Stewart had claimed he took the picture from Burnaby Mountain as he had business there the day of the tragedy. Calling into work that afternoon to see if he should come back to downtown Vancouver or go home, he was informed of the bridge disaster, which he had not known of at the time. The fact he was on Burnaby Mountain at the instant of the collapse, he did not hear the bridge coming down as he was too far east. When told of the event he must have rushed to get as close as possible for his ‘money shot’. That would be of course around Bates Park, as you have mentioned. Thanks, again fellows!

By: Robert Harrison

Robert Harrison — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 18:47:12 +0000

The photo caption claims it was taken from Burnaby Mountain. That is not true. The photo was taken from the Vancouver side and looks like Bates Park.

By: Beth Wallace

Beth Wallace — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 16:12:04 +0000

Wonderful pictures, still so very sad. I was 5 years old at the time and with my dad who was on his day off, so it must have been a Tuesday, we were at Lumberman’s Arch with my grandparents and we heard this horrible noise and of course no one knew what it was. When we got home, and then my mom came home from work delivering diapers for Stork Diaper Service, she was very upset and told us that she had just crossed to old bridge and as she approached the pay booth, the old man in the booth was standing outside with his hands on his head very upset. She was so terrible close to when it collapsed, and I didn’t want to go over that new bridge when it opened!!

By: Peter Vogel

Peter Vogel — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 06:23:51 +0000

The image caption “Burnaby Mountain” is incorrect. The shot is taken from Burnaby Heights. Burnaby Mountain is a few kilometers to the east.

By: Robert Hall

Robert Hall — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 00:14:59 +0000

This is Robert Hall who you mentioned above. In answer to Bob Hawkins, yes there was a long drawn out Royal commission to get to to the bottom of the cause. As there were a number of aspects involved including Swan
Wooster, the bridge designers, Dominion Bridge, the steel installation contractor, the fabricated and stock steel supply and other procedural aspects it was declared to be a care of human error with no specific a
blame attached to an individual or corporation.
In answer to Catherine Clement, yes there was one painter that went down with the bridge. He worked for Boshard Painting (Pete Boshard) and like you say it was so fortunate that most of their crew were not there at the time.
To Richard Griffin, yes a diver was drowned. It was two days after the collapse and he worked for the BC Toll Authority. He got tangled up in the wreckage below.
Earlier Peter Keiwit who erected the concrete columns lost three carpenters while erecting the formwork.
In all I think 22 perished in the construction of the bridge
14 Ironworkers
2 Engineers
1 Bogey Operator
1 Painter
1 Diver
3 Carpenters
I was 30 at the time and most of the men were around my age. I was on my way to the bridge and our site trailer was on the north side. Our firm had the contract for all the approach roads and the concrete deck surfaces of the bridge. I remember many of the guys that perished and they were a real friendly close knit group of guys. Ive been involved n construction for some 70 years and for sure that was the most tragic day of my life.