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1988: Miraculously, no one dies in Burnaby's 'Cave-On-Foods' disaster

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Save-On Foods collapse
Police and fire officials inspect the damage after a section of the rooftop deck collapsed into a crowded Save-On Foods store at Station Square in April 1988.

Celebration turned to horror on April 23, when a rooftop parking lot above the newly opened Save-On-Foods in Metrotown's Station Square Mall collapsed.

An estimated 1,000 people, including then-Mayor Bill Copeland were inside the new store, when a 6,400-square-foot section of the roof gave way and sent 20 vehicles and the rooftop parking deck crashing into the produce section below. 

Twenty-one people, including Copeland, were injured and taken to hospital, but no one was killed.

Save-On Foods Collapse
An aerial view of the damage.

Copeland had been at the store to give a grand-opening speech.

A former firefighter, the mayor helped evacuate the space and was credited with saving lives.

All construction on the $75-million Station Square project was shut down during an investigation of the cave in, which earned the supermarket the dubious moniker “Cave-On Foods.”

Four engineers involved in the collapse were later found guilty of incompetence, negligence or professional misconduct by a five-member panel of the professional engineers governing body.