Eastway blast: Victims Kearney, McLellan remembered as dedicated, generous, loving to families

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Among those killed by the Eastway Tank explosion were two friends, Matthew Kearney and Russell McLellan, both longtime employees of the Nepean manufacturing company.

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The last of six Eastway victims publicly identified, Kearney and McLellan, were remembered on Monday as men, dedicated to their jobs, generous to their friends and loving to their families.

Kearney, 36, a service manager and calibration technician at Eastway, died early Friday at the hospital from injuries during the explosion.

He had worked in the family-owned company for more than 14 years. Eastway Tank builds and repairs tankers that transport fuel and water.

“Matt was probably the most positive guy I’ve ever met,” said Brad Walker, a truck driver and former Eastway Tank employee. “No matter what the circumstances, he always had a smile on his face.”

In 2011, Kearney traveled to Afghanistan to work under contract at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul while Canadian troops battled the Taliban in that country.

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Kearney, a graduate of Stittsville’s Sacred Heart Catholic School, loved dogs, golf and the Ottawa Senators hockey. His family has asked that donations be made to a local dog adoption agency instead of flowers.

McLellan, 43, Kearney’s friend and colleague, worked as a factory manager at Eastway Tank.

His longtime friend, Tom Burant, said McLellan grew up in Russell and attended Algonquin College, where he studied car body repair. He worked in a workshop and as a welder before coming to Eastway Tank.

“He was a gentle giant,” Burant said. “He was always there for people. He was the first guy to lend a hand, the first to help.”

McLellan once built a sawmill for him, Burant said, after expressing a desire to buy one. He called it a birthday present. “He was the most generous guy ever,” Burant said.

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A gifted mechanic and metalworker, McLellan had a modest, quiet nature. He kept a trailer at Burant’s cottage property in Barry’s Bay and spent many happy weekends there with his wife, Sarah, and daughter, Brianna.

“It was his favorite place,” Burant said. “He was there almost every weekend from May 24 to the end of October. He loved fishing and hanging out by the lake with his daughter.

“He was about his daughter: He lived and breathed for Brianna,” said Burant, 63, of Limoges. “She was his pride and joy.”

Burant is launched an online fundraiser to assist the McLellan family with funeral and other expenses.

Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the explosion and the fire that tore through the Eastway Tank building on Jan. 13 at 1 p.m. 13:30. The industrial accident killed six people.

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The bodies of five Eastway employees have not yet been found from the site, though four of them have been located. Ottawa politiinsp. Frank D’Aoust told reporters Sunday that the structure is so unstable that those working to recover the bodies have not been able to reach them yet.

Monday’s snowstorm further complicated exploration and recovery efforts at the Merivale Road blast site. Tents were set up to protect it from the heavy snowfall.

Among those also presumed dead in the blast is Rick Bastien, 57, a mechanic and welder from Luskville, Que .; electrician Etienne Mabiala, 59, a husband and father who moved to Canada from the Republic of Congo; welder and Algonquin College graduate Kayla Ferguson, 26, of Carleton Place; and electrician Danny Beale, 29, from Ottawa, who loved the outdoors.

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Burant said McLellan had only good things to say about the work on the Eastway Tank.

“He loved the man he worked for, Neil (owner Neil Greene), and he absolutely loved his job,” Burant said Monday. “I once asked him, ‘Do you think this is a dangerous job?’ and he said, ‘Well, any job is dangerous, but if you follow the protocols and safety procedures, you can minimize the risk.’ ”

Parallel investigations are now being conducted by Ottawa police, the fire marshal, the regional forensic pathologist and the Department of Labor, but officials warned Sunday that it could take a long time to determine what caused the explosion.

Much of the blasting area has been wiped out, they said, leaving several layers of dirt to be carefully unpacked and examined.

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The Eastway Tank explosion was the deadliest industrial accident in Ottawa in more than half a century.

Ottawa haulier Dave Bolduc wants to host a fundraising event honoring all the workers who died at the Eastway Tank. He’s trying to organize a parade of trucks near the site this weekend.

Bolduc often had his tanker repaired at Eastway Tank and spent many hours talking to staff about fuel tanks and trucks. He knew both Kearney and McLellan.

“They were like two brothers,” he said. “They were both really good guys.”