Etobicoke firefighters are mourning the death of a well-respected colleague who is being praised for his firehall finger-licking culinary skills.

Brian Malcolm Muir, who was dubbed ‘Big Bud,’ by his many colleagues, passed away peacefully on June 17 surrounded by his loving family at his Mississauga home. He was 75.

Muir served for 31 years as a firefighter for the Etobicoke Fire Department. He took part in fighting many big blazes over the years.

He was predeceased by his wife Emilia. Cherished father of Ian and  Cindy, Jason, Scott and Elaine. He loved his grandchildren: Ariel, Mickayla, Devin and Dylan. Brother of Hall, Sharon and Kevin.

Peter Zaremba, who worked alongside Muir, called ‘Big Bud’ a ‘firefighter’s firefighter.”

He was “a man larger than life with a smile and a spirit to match,” recalls Zaremba. “Brian was the firehall chef for all my years working with him. His meals were always top notch and were envied by other firehalls.”

He said his co-worker ‘will be missed. Godspeed my friend.”

Retired Etobicoke firefighter Paul Dodds says Brian was well known for his great meals.

“He was an amazing cook and one of the nicest men you would ever want to meet,” Dodds laments.

Other co-workers remember that Muir always left food in the firehall fridge for colleagues from other shifts.

Social media was lit up as Muir’s many friends over the years paid tribute to him

“R.I.P. Big Bud! A true great guy!” wrote Doug Gordon.

“He was a great man, great cook, and was the unofficial Etobicoke Fire Dept. photographer,” said Kevin Tweddle. “RIP Brian.”

“We on D shift loved following A shift Thursdays as that was fridge day and there were always great leftovers Brian cooked the night before,” recalls David Smith.

“Big bud was one of the best and there are no others like him,” mourns Tom George. “He was a great cook, great firefighter and a great man. RIP Bud.”

“He was one of the nicest guys on the job,” admits Glen Johnston. “He was not a good cook. He was a great cook. He could take an old shoe and make it taste like the best stake you ever had.”

Steve Yurg said ‘Big Bud’ taught him so much about fire and life as they worked together until he retired.

“He was one of the best cooks ever,” Yurg notes.

 

Residents and local merchants say they will miss a well-known candy maker and dozens of staff who are  moving after 50 years in the community for a larger brand new facility in Oakville.

Kerr’s Candy Ltd. says their factory at 956 Islington Ave., just north of The Queensway, is old and now to small as the candy maker expands.

The land that the current location is on is owned by the Toronto Catholic District School Board, and with nearby Holy Angels Catholic School deciding to expand, Kerr’s has been forced to move.

The company has been making Canadian treats for more than 125 years and has been in South Etobicoke since the early 1980s.

The confectioner moved to Toronto in the early 1900s and has made a name for its brands at the CNE and an array of retailers, including Walmart, Shoppers Drug, big box grocery stores and local shops.

Kerr’s was founded in 1895 by brothers Edward and Albert Kerr. After emigrating from Scotland, they opened a candy shop in St. Thomas, Ontario. Theirs is known for its high quality and rich heritage, so much so, that Kerr’s is an industry leader in Canadian confectionery.

“Our candy team, close to 80 of us, come from all across the globe,” Kerr’s said on its website. “We strive to have a happy, healthy and safe workplace, and our goal is to make Irresistible candy!”

They focus on creating candy for all Canadians. Their factory is peanut free, tree-nut free and gluten free. The company also makes many products that are suitable for kosher or halal diets, as well as sugar reduced diets.

While moving is never fun, the Kerr’s team says they’re excited for the upcoming changes and the potential that the company’s first new facility in nearly 40 years can provide.

“It’s a big change for us, we’ve been here in this facility since the early 1980s so it’s going to be an upgrade on everything. We built it pretty much from scratch, it’s going to be brand new,” explained marketing manager Whitney Martyniuk.

Many of its staff live in the area or have developed ties with local businesses and will be sorely missed.

You may be familiar with some of their products. They include lollypops, caramels, butterscotch, scotch mints, striped mints, toffee, fruit drops and the little red strawberry hearts.

Members of the local Guyanese community have banded together to help raise badly-needed cash and emergency goods and food to help thousands in their homeland that has been hit hard by recent floods.

Emergency relief drive-throughs are being held on June 19 in Brampton, at 75 Parkwood Square, and June 20 in North York, at 40 Carl Hall Road.

The drive-through drop-offs will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at both sites.

Badly- needed Items includes non-perishable food, money to purchase items in demand, gloves, cleaning items, garbage bags, baby and children items, mask, sanitizers, disinfectant wipes, hygiene kits, medicine and other cleaning and antiseptic materials.

The widespread flooding washed away roads, homes and farmland throughout the small South American country. More than 6,900 households across the country have been severely affected by the flooding in the past several weeks, according to government estimates.

The Government of Guyana has declared a disaster in response to the flooding that has affected all regions since mid-May.

Weeks of flooding continues in neighbouring Suriname, where over 10,000 people have been affected.

President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali declared Guyana a disaster on June 10.

Irfaan said a Tropical Wave embedded with the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITGZ) resulted in heavy rainfall during May, which was likely to continue until late June and possibly mid-July.

As many as 25,000 households have now been affected by the flooding in Guyana, according to the country’s Civil Defence Commission (CDC).

CDC has received reports of flooding in more than 300 communities across all regions of Guyana. It is  estimated that between 7,000 and 8,000 homes have been damaged. It is unknown how many people were killed by the flooding.

Irfaan said the flooding is one of the worst disasters the country has ever faced and projected that it will take some time for the country recover once the situation has abated. He appealed for aid from countries abroad.

Federal statistics show that about 70,000 Guyanese live in Toronto and about 200,000 make Canada their home.

For more information email governorp.p@gmail.com or phone 647-994-7443 or 416-993-9266.