Fire marshal investigators narrow down scenarios for what caused Eastway Tank explosion

Ontario's Office of the Fire Marshalsays it's one step closer to deducingwhat caused this past January's deadly blast atEastway Tank, Pump &Meter Ltd. in Ottawa, but it'sunclear when its findings will be shared publicly.

"We're downto, let's say, a couple hypothesesas to what may have caused the explosion," said Mike Rushton, the fire marshal's lead investigator on theincident.

Six employees were killed at the tanker manufacturers' east Ottawa site after an explosion on Jan. 13: Rick Bastien, Etienne Mabiala, Danny Beale, Kayla Ferguson and Russell McLellan died at the scene, while Matt Kearney succumbed to his injuries in hospital the next day.

It was Ottawa's worst workplace fatality incident in decades.

Louise Martel, Bastien'spartner of 10 years, said she's still struggling to understand how her loved one died so suddenly.

"It's kinda frustrating because we don't have answers yet," she said on Tuesday.

WATCH |Widow describes losing 'soulmate and best friend' in Eastway Tank explosion:

Widow describes losing soulmate and best friend in Eastway Tank explosion

2 years ago

Duration 2:24

Louise Martel describes losing her partner, Rick Bastien, in the Eastway Tank explosion in January. She says he was sometimes afraid at work because safety procedures were not properly followed.

'We are going to provide some answers'

In aninterview, Rushtonsaid there's some stress that comes with working on cases where grieving family members are impatient for answers.

"I can promise you,we are going to provide some answers that,hopefully, can get taken forward to prevent such an event from happening [again]."

Without providingspecifics on the investigation's findings so far, Rushton outlined some of the complications encountered.

The Office of the Fire Marshalhas about 30 scene investigators working across the province on cases involving deaths. The caseload has at least doubled since the start ofthe pandemic, Rushton said.

Approximately half of those scene investigators were immediately dispatched to the Eastway Tanksite, he said.Aconcrete roof had caved in after the explosion and the initial investigation happened in tandem with the extraction of bodies from the site, Rushton said.

Investigators collected statements from 20 or so employeeswho were working at EastwayTank when the explosion happened, and from many otherpublicwitnesses.

"Usually we get a good sense of what's going on from that initial part and that's why we respond as quickly as we do," Rushton said.

Interviews in investigations like these canbedelayed ifwitnesses need time torecoverfrom injuries.

"They may be sent to a burn ward, for example,or the hospital for assessment. We try and let that process play out."

After hearing from witnesses, "then we try and look at the physical side."

The average fire scene has one to two pieces of evidence that may becollected, identified and analyzed, for factors like signs of accelerants, he said. In this case, EastwayTank had closer to 50 pieces, Rushton said.

Samples were shipped to the fire marshal's main office in Toronto and analyzed in-house, while otherswere forwardedfor analysis to that city's Centre of Forensic Sciences.

"Our investigative process is effectively fact-checking many aspects of that story we get [from witnesses]," Rushton said.

"We want to make sure that we have analyzed all our samples, looked at all our evidenceand corroborated every piece of information because once it's out, we don't get an opportunity to go back in and change it."

Talks ongoing about how to release findings

Other agencies, including the Ministry of Labour and the Ottawa Police Service, are also investigating what happened at Eastway and will drawtheir own findings.

But "it's unlikely that they would reach their conclusion until they see our conclusion," Rushton said.

Asked on Tuesday whetherthe groups will collectively releasetheir findings, and when, a spokesperson for the Office of the Fire Marshal said discussions continue as to how and when information will be shared to update the public.

Agencies try to keep families updated in the meantime, Rushton said, "But at some point, due diligence needs to meet public obligation, and that's kind of the sweet spot that needs to be found."