WorldAmericas
Fire at Canada's Wainwright army base kills four soldiers, 19 critical as Alberta heads to the polls
A grass fire that broke out during live-fire training at CFB Wainwright swept into the range's administrative area. Prime Minister Mark Carney called it one of the worst peacetime tragedies for the forces on Canadian soil.
Key points
- Four service members died and at least 39 people were taken to hospital after the fire at CFB Wainwright.
- The army said a grass fire started during training with grenades and live ammunition and was driven by uncommonly strong winds.
- The disaster came days before Alberta's 19 October vote on starting the legal process towards secession.
Four Canadian soldiers were killed and dozens more injured when a fire tore through Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta, one of the country’s busiest military training grounds, during exercises on Saturday afternoon.
By Sunday at least 39 people were in hospital and at least 19 of them were in critical condition, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said. Patients were taken to hospitals in Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary. Warren Thirsk, an emergency physician at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, said the hospitals around the base had been “completely overwhelmed.”
The dead were named as Private Aidan Goulding, Private Shaun Farrell, Private Hayden Lykkemark and Sergeant Morgan Wong.
How the fire spread
Major-General Wade Rutland of the Canadian Army said the blaze began in the training area while soldiers were working with grenades and live ammunition. “During the conduct of a training, a grass fire ignited in the training area,” he said. “Uncommonly strong winds caused the fire to spread rapidly and shift direction towards the range administrative area.”
Strong winds had been forecast for the day. Rutland said conditions had stayed within established guidelines for most of the day. The cause is still under investigation, and an inquiry is expected to take at least a month.
Prime Minister Mark Carney called the fire “one of the worst tragedies for the forces on Canadian soil and in peacetime.” He said those killed and injured had been “training to defend Canada”, adding: “And now Canada serves them.”
Defence Minister David McGuinty said: “I cannot recall an incident like this in recent memory.” Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre wrote: “Pray for Wainwright, everyone.”
A province on the eve of a vote
The tragedy struck days before Albertans vote on Monday on whether the province of about five million people should begin the legal process towards a binding referendum on leaving Canada. Carney opposes the secession push and has spent the past week urging Albertans to stay.
Smith said election authorities had redirected voters in the area around the base to other polling stations.
Carney sought to strike a note of unity on Sunday. “Canadians come together in crisis,” he said. “That is the best of our country.”
The fire lands in a week when Ottawa’s attention was already split between the Alberta vote and a busy diplomatic calendar, including Foreign Minister Anita Anand’s recent talks in New Delhi as India and Canada rebuild ties.