January 7 marked the 37th anniversary of the Bentall IV tragedy, when Gunther Couvreux, Brian Stevenson, Donald W. Davis, and Yrjo Mitrunen fell to their deaths from the 36th floor of Bentall Tower IV in downtown Vancouver after a fly form used for pouring concrete collapsed.
Every year the four men are commemorated at a ceremony held across the street from Bentall Tower IV. BC Building Trades executive director Tom Sigurdson hosted the event and spoke to the Journal of Commerce about the importance of safety in construction and other workplace environments.
WorkSafeBC vice president of prevention services Al Johnson explained how the event reminds him at the start of every year to redouble his efforts to prevent workplace accidents, and BC Insulators business manager Lee Loftus spoke of working near the accident on the day it happened and how the event affected the industry at the time.
JOC News Service
Recent Comments
comments for this post are closed