City to commemorate victims of Blue Bird Cafe fire on 40th anniversary

A photo from the horrific night shows emergency staff removing a victim on a stretcher. (Photo credit: "Le Memorial de Qu�bec Edition 1966-76" published in 1979 by the National Library of Quebec)

The City of Montreal is paying tribute to victims of the Blue Bird Café fire that claimed the lives of 37 young people four decades ago.

On Sept. 1, 1972, flames ripped through the bar on Union St., killing the young people out for an evening of drinking and dancing.

The fire was set by James O'Brien, Gilles Eccles and Marc Boutin, who were sentenced to life in prison but were paroled in the early 1980s.

Forty years after the event, Montreal plans to remember the lives of the 37 victims of the tragedy.

“Today we're  launching an appeal to people inside or outside of Montreal who were there, or who were thinking of being there, who were patrons of the Blue Bird or the Wagon Wheel, on a regular or irregular manner,” said city council executive member in charge of culture and heritage, Helen Fotopulos.“If they're in Montreal, please come and join us for the commemorative service.”

The memorial will begin on Aug. 31 with the annual morning mass for deceased firefighters at Mary-Queen-of-the-World Cathedral. There, a tribute will be paid to the victims of the fire, followed by a procession from the cathedral to Phillips Square. A historic footprint will be placed there, close to the former site of the Blue Bird Café.

"This sad day will be forever engraved in the collective memory of Montrealers. Exactly 40 years later, our administration hopes to gather together the families and friends of the victims of this terrible fire to pay them homage,” said city council executive member in charge of culture and heritage, Helen Fotopulos, in a news release.

From Sept 1 to 8, the city also plans to commemorate the blaze with an exhibition called In Memory of the Blue Bird - Wagon Wheel 1972-2012, in the hall of honour at city hall.

It will be presented at the same time as an exhibition featuring the history of the Montreal fire department from 1863 to today, called 150 ans d'histoire au Service de sécurité incendie de Montréal.

Maureen Doucette, who lost a relative in the fire, said she was pleased that the victims would be remembered.

“When we got the news about the monument and everything they're doing to help us out and to do for us, everybody was just crying,” she said. “It’s great.”