Four Canadian Service Members Killed in Alberta Base Fire
A fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta killed four service members and injured dozens, prompting Prime Minister Mark Carney to call it one of Canada's worst peacetime military tragedies on domestic soil.
Four Canadian service members were killed and dozens more seriously injured when a fire broke out at a military training base in Alberta, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday, describing the incident as one of the worst peacetime tragedies for Canada's military on domestic soil.
The fire erupted late Saturday at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, a busy training installation in rural Alberta, as fierce winds with gusts reaching 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) pushed flames beyond the base and into the surrounding countryside. The Canadian military said there were no indications the incident was terrorism-related, but the cause remained under investigation.
In a televised address, Carney said the families of those killed had been notified and that the situation was still evolving. The service members who were killed and injured were taking part in military training when the fire broke out, he said. Flags would fly at half-staff on federal buildings across the country in honor of those affected.
Carney said those affected included reservists and soldiers from Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, one of Canada's most storied regiments. Personnel had traveled from bases across the country to train at Wainwright. It was not immediately clear exactly how many people had been injured.
The wounded were being treated in Wainwright, Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary, according to the prime minister. Cathy Keane, a mayoral candidate in Ontario, said on Facebook that her eldest son was among the military personnel critically injured. «As a mother, right now I need to be with my son and family,» she wrote, saying she was traveling to Alberta.
Dr. Warren Thirsk, an emergency department physician at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, told CBC News that patients were taken to hospitals across the city as health facilities around the base became «completely overwhelmed» by the number of people needing care. «This number of patients would overwhelm the city of Edmonton,» he said. «It is more patients than any of us want to count right now. It's a disaster. It's a one in every 15- to 25-year disaster.»
Acute Care Alberta said several hospitals across the province had activated a «Code Orange,» an emergency designation used when multiple severely injured patients require coordinated medical care. The agency said emergency medical resources were stretched so thin that extremely few ambulances were available in the Edmonton area, and it urged people to avoid the University of Alberta Hospital emergency department if possible.
Wainwright Mayor Bruce Pugh said the town's small hospital was not designed to handle a mass-casualty incident but praised the response of local medical personnel. He said helicopters and planes had been transporting patients to other facilities. At least 10 ambulances were parked in and around the Wainwright health center late Saturday as paramedics and soldiers rushed about. The town near the base has about 7,000 residents.
Defense Minister David McGuinty said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were involved in investigating the incident and described the situation as «very, very active and delicate.» He said he was traveling to Edmonton to be briefed and that the military was working closely with Alberta's government and local authorities. «I cannot recall an incident like this in recent memory,» McGuinty told reporters in Ottawa. «We will have more to say in the coming hours and days.»
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said officers were called shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday following reports of a fire in a training area at the base. By 11 p.m., the Municipal District of Wainwright said on social media that the fire was being held and that property and critical infrastructure were protected. There was no evacuation order for residents.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith described the fire as «significant and tragic» and said it was affecting many military personnel. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said his province was sending assistance to Alberta but did not specify what resources were being deployed. Carney praised emergency crews who battled the fire through the night and said STARS air ambulance helicopters had flown in from Edmonton and Saskatoon.
CFB Wainwright is one of Canada's busiest military training bases, where soldiers prepare for combat operations. It is home to the Canadian Maneuver Training Center, which conducts realistic battlefield exercises, and the 3rd Canadian Division Training Centre, which provides military training.
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