Two fallen Saskatoon firefighters remembered on 40th anniversary of Queen’s Hotel blaze

The Saskatoon Fire Department held two ceremonies Sunday to mark 40 years since the tragic Queen’s Hotel fire that claimed the lives of two firefighters.

Victor Budz, 46, and Dennis Guenter, 29, died in the 1980 fire.

One ceremony was held at the Scotiabank Theatre, the former site of the Queen’s Hotel. The other was held at Fire Hall No. 6, at the memorial statue of Budz and Guenter.

A memorial plaque on the north wall of the Scotiabank Theatre was unveiled in 2016 by then-Lt. Gov. Vaughn Solomon Schofield and Mayor Don Atchison. This year, firefighters honoured Budz and Guenter at the site, but in a physically distant manner.

The blaze at the hotel started due to a faulty sauna unit installed in a gym. Guenter and Budz were two of the first firefighters to enter the hotel. They were unable to get out of the dark, smoky basement filled with gym equipment, were overcome by smoke and eventually ran out of air.

Other firefighters were able to get the men out of the building, but efforts to revive them failed and both Guenter and Budz died from their injuries.

A Facebook live stream was held during the Sunday ceremony, so those who couldn’t attend due to the COVID-19 pandemic, could still take part.