Station Square collapse
The Station Square collapse, also known as the Save-On-Foods collapse, commonly referred to as "Cave-on-foods", was a major structural failure of a new supermarket and parking facility in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. On April 23, 1988, within minutes of the grand opening of a new Save-On-Foods store, a portion of the roof collapsed, sending the rooftop parking deck and 20 automobiles crashing into the produce section below. There were no fatalities, and 21 people were treated in hospital. In the years following the collapse, recommendations from a commission of inquiry resulted in significant changes to the practice of architecture and engineering throughout British Columbia. At 9:00 am on the morning of April 23, 1988, customers were let into the store as part of a grand opening sale for senior citizens. Within 10 minutes an employee noticed water spraying from an overhead pipe that had burst. It was buckling under pressure from a roof beam that was twisting out of shape above a steel column. The 4.5-minute-long structural failure was heard and witnessed by many of the store occupants, including several who took photographs of the twisting and crushed beam. Evacuation alerts were issued through the public address system, and the store was emptied in less than 5 minutes. The mayor of Burnaby, Bill Copeland, who presided over the opening ceremonies, assisted in directing the evacuation of approximately 600 customers and 307 employees. Four structural bays of the roof, measuring , collapsed into the produce section. One store employee was trapped under the debris and was removed by first responders using forklifts; he suffered a crushed pelvis. Several people were blown off their feet by the rushing air from the collapse. The 5.4 million part of the newly constructed mixed-use Station Square, complex in the Metrotown area of Burnaby, a suburb of Vancouver.