Missing Eastway welder remembered for her 'heart of gold'

While Kayla and Maria Ferguson are cousins by blood, Maria says they were as close as sisters — and Kayla was the "rock" of the family.

"She would give the shirt off her back to anybody that she loved and cared about," she recalled Sunday. "Or a stranger that was in need." 

Kayla Ferguson is one of five employees missing and presumed dead after the Jan. 13 explosion and fire at Eastway Tank.

One death was confirmed following the blast. On Sunday, officials said they had found the remains of four people on the site, but had not yet been able to identify them.

The 26-year-old started working at Eastway during the summer of 2020 after graduating from college, her cousin said. She described her as a hard worker who'd been excited to start her career in welding. 

Ferguson was also an avid outdoorswoman who loved to hunt, fish, dirt bike and ride snowmobiles. She was a tomboy, her cousin said, who took pride in her work as a welder.

"Anything that a man did, she was doing," Maria Ferguson told CBC on Sunday.

"Every time she talked to me about stories of her and the guys at work, it was always with a big smile on her face. They never treated her any different." 

Kayla Ferguson was also a devoted aunt and godmother to her cousin's three children, who called her "Auntie K."

"She was a great human being who had a heart of gold and loved every single person in her life to the ends of the world," her cousin recalled.

'Nothing can bring her back'

On the day of the explosion, Maria Ferguson said she got a phone call from her father — Kayla's uncle — who said Eastway Tank was on fire and that people were trapped inside.

When none of the family members were able to get ahold of Kayla, they all gathered Thursday night at the nearby Woodvale Pentecostal Church, which was being used to reunite employees with their families.

"I was just numb. I was angry and I was sad," Maria Ferguson said. "There's always a part of you that knows that they're gone, but you don't want to believe it."

While officials are still trying to determine the cause of the explosion, Maria Ferguson said she's not personally looking for answers.

"Nothing can bring her back. It doesn't matter what caused it, it doesn't matter what happened — it happened."

She said Kayla would want her family to "be strong and continue with our lives." She also wishes she had the chance to tell her cousin how much she meant to her.

"I would just tell her that I love her. And that I'm proud of the woman she became."