The Province

‘Nice young man’ who fell to his death remembered

- CHERYL CHAN chchan@postmedia.com twitter.com/cherylchan

Friends and former teammates are mourning the death of a man who died after falling from the fifth-floor balcony of a downtown Kelowna condo Friday.

Brendan Burge, 24, has been identified on social media as the victim of the tragic accident, which occurred just after 10 p.m. in the 1300-block of Ellis Street. Reports say he was attending a St. Patrick’s Day party. His body was found on a protruding second-floor balcony, said RCMP.

Tributes poured in online on the weekend, including many from B.C.’s junior hockey community. Burge, 24, was born in Salmon Arm and played junior B hockey in the Kootenay Internatio­nal League from 2008 to 2013. He finished playing with the Columbia Valley Rockies in 2013 after stints with other clubs, including the Fernie Ghostrider­s and Revelstoke Grizzlies.

“We as an organizati­on are so deeply affected by the passing of this young man and would like to pass on our condolence­s to his family, his beautiful daughter ... and his hockey family that spans far and wide,” wrote the Rockies in a Facebook post early Sunday.

Burge’s “presence made a huge impact on the ice and in the dressing room,” the team said.

While playing for the Invermere-based club in 2013, Burge was named top scorer and most valuable player. In an interview with the Salmon Arm Observer at the time, a team official lauded him for his skills on the ice, as well as his off-ice qualities, describing him as a “genuinely nice young man.”

Burge’s former team in Germany, Luchse Lauterbach, which he joined in 2013, expressed shocked at Burge’s death. “In honour of Brendan, the number 27 will no longer be given,” it wrote.

Many others also posted tributes for Burge online, rememberin­g him as a great father and warm friend.

“This breaks my heart,” wrote one person. “Brendan was a great person who had more than just hockey skill. He will be missed by so many.”

His former coach at the Revelstoke Grizzlies, Troy Mick, called him an “amazing young man, husband and father.”

In a statement, Kelowna RCMP said investigat­ors interviewe­d witnesses at the scene, and do not believe foul play is a factor in the man’s death. The investigat­ion has been turned over to the B.C. Coroners Service.

 ??  ?? Brendan Burge, 24, has been identified on social media as the man who died after falling from the balcony of a Kelowna condo on Friday.
Brendan Burge, 24, has been identified on social media as the man who died after falling from the balcony of a Kelowna condo on Friday.

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