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

ErikLeicht 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," saidLeicht, afirefighterfor 32years.

The Jan. 13 blast on Merivale Road wasthe 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 andfriends, 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 byDiane 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 withbooks, one for each dead Eastway employee, in which participants shared their memories andcondolences.

"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 firefightercolleagues.

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

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

While noting the explosion remains under investigation, Leichtsaid part of the building collapsed by the time he arrived suggesting it was a "high-heatmajor 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 hadthe 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 thesong Gone Too Soonby Simple Plan, then heard remarks from Watson, Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod andKnoxdale-MerivaleCoun.Keith Egli, who represents the area.

Then Sarah Lavoie whose partner, Russell McLellan, was among thevictimsrose and readfrom a piece of paper.

Lavoie rememberedMcLellanas a man of few words "but many dreams," andthen 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 uncleas 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."