The fire was the worst in Montreal since 1927, when 77 people perished in the Laurier Palace Theatre Fire.[3] It is also the worst and only nightclub fire casualty in Canadian history.
Venue[edit]
Montreal’s Blue Bird Café and the Wagon Wheel, a country and western bar above it, were located on the west side of Union Street between Ste-Catherine Ouest and Dorchester (now René-Lévesque) in downtown Montreal, lying within the borough of Ville-Marie.[2] The café and bar were known as places where largely working-class, English-speaking youth[2] could come for an evening of music, dancing, and drinking.[1]
Victims[edit]
While it was originally reported that 42 people had died,[3] later investigation determined that 37 people succumbed and perished as smoke and fire overtook the bar.[1] Police and firefighters found bodies in the bathrooms, huddled in a corner that had no exit, and jammed in a rear section of the club close to a back entrance.[3]
