Company owner charged in 2022 Merivale explosion that killed six

Ottawa police laid several charges against a man in connection with the 2022 explosion at a commercial business in the nation’s capital, after years of investigating.

Officials have charged Neil Greene, 51, of Ottawa with criminal negligence causing death (six counts) and criminal negligence causing bodily harm (one count).

He is the owner and director of Eastway Tank, Pump and Meter Limited in Nepean, which erupted in flames after an explosion killed six employees and seriously injured one.

Greene was released from custody on an undertaking and is expected to appear in court in October.

The business, located at 1995 Merivale Rd., was the scene of a serious fire after an explosion on Jan. 13, 2022. It happened around 1:30 p.m., and firefighters were on scene well into the night attempting to control the flames.

Immediately following the explosion, officials said that several people were unaccounted for, and it was believed they were in the building when the tank burst.

Richard Bastien, 57, Daniel Beale, 29, Kayla Ferguson, 26, Matthew Kearney, 35, Etienne Mabiala, 59, and Russell McLellan,43, were killed in the incident, and Tanner Clement, now 36, sustained serious injuries. They were all employees of Eastway.

Owner facing fines as well

In April 2024, Greene was fined $680,000 after the incident, and according to a Ministry of Labour investigation, the company “failed to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of workers.”

Employees were testing tanks for leaks, which included running a diesel test through the compartments. This was a routine inspection, and workers knew to never use gasoline in the tanks, the labour report notes.

However, in the explosion aftermath, investigators found several fuel storage tanks that had contaminated gases in them.

“The company and its director failed to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances to protect the health and safety of workers by failing to ensure that diesel fuel to be used for the wet testing of trucks was not contaminated with gasoline or any other flammable liquid or substance,” the report reads.