Deadly Fire at Canadian Base Kills Over 4, 19 in Critical Condition
(MENAFN) A wind-driven fire tore through Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta, killing at least four people and seriously injuring dozens more, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday. He called it one of the worst peacetime tragedies to strike the country’s armed forces.
Confirming the deaths, the prime minister told reporters: “I regret that I can confirm at this time that Forest Service members have lost their lives and their next of kin have been notified. Dozens more are seriously wounded,”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said 39 people were hospitalized, at least 19 of them in critical condition. All patients, she said, had been accounted for and transferred to four hospitals across the province, as she spoke at an afternoon news conference.
The flames broke out Saturday afternoon at the base, roughly 200 kilometers (124 miles) southeast of Edmonton, and spread beyond a training area as high winds hampered firefighters. The Canadian Armed Forces said the blaze was first reported around 4 pm local time (2200GMT) on a training range.
Maj-Gen. L.W. Rutland said base officials had monitored the fire for several hours before “uncommonly strong winds” caused it to “spread rapidly” and veer toward an administrative area of the range. “The fire was a kilometer away when the wind shifted. It is not normal for a fire to move a kilometer in 30 to 60 seconds,” he said.
Carney described the scale of the disaster: “Yesterday afternoon, a violent, fast-moving fire swept through a Canadian Armed Forces base in Wainwright, Alberta,” he said. “What followed was one of the worst tragedies for the forces on Canadian soil in peacetime.”
Defense Minister David McGuinty confirmed casualties but declined to release figures, describing the situation as “active and delicate.”
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are investigating, while military and civilian authorities coordinate the response. Military personnel and civilian crews fought the fire through the night, Carney said, and air ambulance crews flew in from Edmonton and Saskatoon to help the wounded.
Carney said federal buildings would fly flags at half-mast. “The nation is in mourning for those brave members of our armed forces we have lost,” he said.
Smith called the fire “significant and tragic.” Gen. Jennie Carignan, Chief of the Defense Staff of the Canadian Armed Forces, said the military was working closely with authorities to support those affected.
The prime minister pledged long-term support for victims and their families. “We will care for the injured through every step of their recovery, and we will stand by the women and men of our armed forces as they bear the weight of this loss,” he said. “They will not carry it alone.”
Confirming the deaths, the prime minister told reporters: “I regret that I can confirm at this time that Forest Service members have lost their lives and their next of kin have been notified. Dozens more are seriously wounded,”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said 39 people were hospitalized, at least 19 of them in critical condition. All patients, she said, had been accounted for and transferred to four hospitals across the province, as she spoke at an afternoon news conference.
The flames broke out Saturday afternoon at the base, roughly 200 kilometers (124 miles) southeast of Edmonton, and spread beyond a training area as high winds hampered firefighters. The Canadian Armed Forces said the blaze was first reported around 4 pm local time (2200GMT) on a training range.
Maj-Gen. L.W. Rutland said base officials had monitored the fire for several hours before “uncommonly strong winds” caused it to “spread rapidly” and veer toward an administrative area of the range. “The fire was a kilometer away when the wind shifted. It is not normal for a fire to move a kilometer in 30 to 60 seconds,” he said.
Carney described the scale of the disaster: “Yesterday afternoon, a violent, fast-moving fire swept through a Canadian Armed Forces base in Wainwright, Alberta,” he said. “What followed was one of the worst tragedies for the forces on Canadian soil in peacetime.”
Defense Minister David McGuinty confirmed casualties but declined to release figures, describing the situation as “active and delicate.”
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are investigating, while military and civilian authorities coordinate the response. Military personnel and civilian crews fought the fire through the night, Carney said, and air ambulance crews flew in from Edmonton and Saskatoon to help the wounded.
Carney said federal buildings would fly flags at half-mast. “The nation is in mourning for those brave members of our armed forces we have lost,” he said.
Smith called the fire “significant and tragic.” Gen. Jennie Carignan, Chief of the Defense Staff of the Canadian Armed Forces, said the military was working closely with authorities to support those affected.
The prime minister pledged long-term support for victims and their families. “We will care for the injured through every step of their recovery, and we will stand by the women and men of our armed forces as they bear the weight of this loss,” he said. “They will not carry it alone.”
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