Rise Memorial planned for Knowles Heritage Park in Kelowna (submitted image)

By Pete McIntyre

third anniversary

Memorial to proceed to honour crane collapse victims

Jul 11, 2024 | 4:00 PM

The City of Kelowna says a memorial to honour the five men who died in a crane tower collapse in the city in 2021, will be built.

Friday, July 12, marks the third anniversary of the deadly incident that took the lives of Cailen Vilness, Jared Zook, Eric Stemmer, Patrick Stemmer, and Brad Zawislak in downtown Kelowna.

Victims of crane collapse on July 12, 2021 in Kelowna. (submitted photos)

On the eve of that grim milestone, the City of Kelowna and Mission Group announced they have committed to provide additional contingency funding to the RISE Memorial Foundation to ensure that the Rise Memorial can start construction this year.

“With rising labour and material costs, the city understands that the foundation recently announced a potential funding shortfall, which is delaying the start of construction,” Mayor Tom Dyas said. “We are inspired by the community’s fundraising success over this last year, which raised over $160,000 towards the memorial’s construction. This contingency funding will ensure that the project can commence without delay.”

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In addition to the funds raised by the community, the Rise Foundation has submitted several grant applications for the additional $150,000 needed to cover the project costs. While these applications are being processed, the city and Mission Group have agreed to provide contingency funding to ensure that the memorial construction can begin as soon as possible.

The Rise Memorial Foundation, the non-profit society formed to oversee the memorial’s construction, has a board consisting of family members of the victims and key community partners.

The memorial will be constructed in Knowles Heritage Park to commemorate the victims, highlight the importance of worker safety, and represent a key anchor point in the downtown Kelowna landscape, giving everyone a space to learn, reflect, reminisce, and be at peace and truly present in the power of community.

The completed memorial will bring public amenity enhancements to the park, including seating and gathering points, pollinator gardens, as well as additional trees to add to the park’s tree canopy.

Patrick and Eric Stemmer, Jared Zook, and Cailen Vilness, who were all construction workers on the Bernard block site who were part of the crane dismantling process, died in the collapse on July 12, 2021. The falling crane also hit another building and claimed the life of Brad Zawislak.

Besides the fatalities, the accident permanently traumatized dozens of workers on the site.