Families, first responders pay respects to victims of Eastway Tank disaster

Erik Leicht had never seen a plume of smoke as large as the one that billowed from the Eastway Tank explosion site nearly one month ago.

"Before we got the call, it was a very regular day," said Leicht, a firefighter for 32 years.

The Jan. 13 blast on Merivale Road was the worst Ottawa industrial incident in decades, claiming the lives of six Eastway employees: Rick Bastien, Etienne Mabiala, Danny Beale, Kayla Ferguson, Russell McLellan and Matt Kearney. 

A seventh worker remains in hospital, according to Mayor Jim Watson.

Leicht, Watson and others — including Eastway workers, grieving families and friends, dignitaries, and first responders — gathered in a banquet hall at the Merivale Bowling Centre on Saturday, just a few blocks away from where the explosion happened.

The ceremony was organized by Diane Vena and Solange Goulet, two community residents with no direct connection to the families.

"We were actually waiting to participate in someone's event to give out condolences, as community members in shock," said Vena.

"And when nothing occurred, we decided it was important to do this for the families."

The pair laid out a table with books, one for each dead Eastway employee, in which participants shared their memories and condolences.

"Fly high, sweet angel," one visitor wrote in tribute to Kayla Ferguson, a 26-year-old welder who was the only woman killed in the blast.

'My thoughts have been with the families'

Leicht said he normally doesn't become more involved with families after an incident, but Eastway has been different.

"We were asked to come," he said of his group of firefighter colleagues.

"My thoughts have been with the families ever since that day. And so it's a way to kind of express our sorrow for their loss."

Leicht wasn't involved in the initial response at 1995 Merivale Rd., but joined the effort after clearing another fire call. 

While noting the explosion remains under investigation, Leicht said part of the building collapsed by the time he arrived — suggesting it was a "high-heat major situation that had happened."

Watson said it must have been a horrific day for first responders given the "tough" fire. 

"You had to get up high, you had the ladders that were on either side of the building. And then it was so cold, everything was freezing, and then also people [were] still trapped in the building itself," he said.

For families, the loss of loved ones remains very "raw and emotional," Watson said. 

"I can't imagine what the families went through, waiting to determine whether one of their loved ones was killed or managed to escape," he said. 

'Find peace and comfort in your memories'

The crowd listened in silence for a couple of minutes to the song Gone Too Soon by Simple Plan, then heard remarks from Watson, Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod and Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Keith Egli, who represents the area.

Then Sarah Lavoie — whose partner, Russell McLellan, was among the victims — rose and read from a piece of paper.

Lavoie remembered McLellan as a man of few words "but many dreams," and then addressed him directly. 

"To my best friend, partner and soulmate, I want you to know that you've meant so much to me."

Lavoie then spoke to other families: "May you find peace and comfort in your memories."

After the ceremony, Christ Kinioungou, Etienne Mabiala's nephew, remembered his uncle as a man with an infectious smile. 

"Good people don't last long on earth, and that's pretty much what happened to my uncle and other people that were together with him," he said. 

"But may their souls rest in peace."