39 Hospitalized After Alberta Base Fire, 19 in Critical Condition

Nineteen of the 39 people hospitalized after a grass fire swept through a Canadian military training area are in critical condition, Alberta officials reported. Four soldiers died. The injured are being treated in hospitals, and some have severe burns that could need weeks or months of care. The fire struck Saturday at CFB Wainwright, southeast of Edmonton, during a live-fire exercise. ^1,11

The 39 patients were among about 84 soldiers in Charlie Company, part of the Edmonton-based 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. They were split between a grenade range and an exercise attacking simulated enemy positions when flames reached the second area. Maj. Gen. Wade Rutland, commander of the 1st Canadian Division, said the fire had been known about for hours and was thought to be contained. Then the wind shifted. Flames covered about a kilometre in 36 seconds, Rutland said. Soldiers went from seeing no fire to facing it in less than a minute. ^1,3

That sudden shift turned a training day into an emergency with many casualties. The battalion was preparing to respond quickly to crises overseas and to reinforce Canadian troops in Latvia next spring. The four dead were identified as Sgt. Morgan Wong, Pvt. Shaun Farrell, Pvt. Aidan Goulding and Pvt. Hayden Lykkemark. Prime Minister Mark Carney called the fire one of the worst peacetime tragedies for Canada’s military on home soil. The military said there was no sign of terrorism, but investigators have not established what started the grass fire. ^1,4,11

The 19 critical patients need the most urgent care, while eight others were stable and 12 were receiving treatment for less serious injuries. Alberta hospitals received patients from the base, and emergency teams treated severe burns. Military officials will now examine the fire and the decisions made as it approached. Rutland said the armed forces would hold an inquiry, a process he warned could take longer than a week. ^1,6,11