Major fire at Canada military base leaves four dead, dozens injured
✓Four members of the Canadian military have died and dozens were injured at a base in the province of Alberta after a fire broke out in a grassy training area and spread rapidly due to strong winds.
Addressing the nation on Sunday from Ottawa, Prime Minister Mark Carney described it as "one of the worst tragedies for the forces on Canadian soil in peacetime".
The fire broke out at about 16:00 local time (22:00 GMT) on Saturday at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, one of the country's busiest military training bases, and is now contained.
"The nation is in mourning for those brave members of our armed forces who we have lost," said Carney.
The BBC has confirmed that Sgt Morgan Wong, Pte Shaun Farrell, Pte Aidan Goulding and Pte Hayden Lykkemark have died.
Of the 39 injured people being cared for in hospital, at least 19 are in a critical condition, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said at a press briefing on Sunday evening.
Fire and rescue teams are remaining at the scene to contain any potential flare-ups, Wainwright Mayor Bruce Pugh told the BBC.
Members of the infantry had been conducting "high-intensity combat training with live munitions" at a grenade range and attack range, where 10 soldiers practise attacking a simulated enemy, Maj-Gen Wade Rutland told reporters at the briefing.
"There was a multitude of ordnance moving through the Wainwright training area," he said, including a grenade launcher, grenades, small arms and ammunition.
A grass fire ignited about 1km (0.6 miles) away, with the cause currently under investigation, and moved toward the attack range.
"What I would say is there was multiple training activities happening throughout the training area at the time," he said. "Uncommonly strong winds caused the fire to spread rapidly and shift direction towards the range administrative area."
The provincial health agency said in a statement on Sunday that it deployed 30 units directly into Wainwright, including 22 ground ambulances, six fixed-wing and two rotary wing units.
"It is anticipated that care for patients impacted by this incident will be intensive and will add to existing high demand on acute care in Alberta," it said, adding that patients were being treated at facilities across the province.
STARS, the regional air ambulance service, said aircraft and crews from Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Calgary had been deployed.
Brandon Simmons, who lives in long-term care at the Wainwright Health Centre, told Reuters that when code orange was announced, nurses dropped everything and immediately started grabbing stretchers, gurneys and medical equipment before running to the front entrance.
Ambulances kept coming "throughout the night", he said.
"I heard people screaming inside of those vehicles that will never end up being out of my mind," he recalled, saying it was "like a scene from a war movie".
Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert
Read the full story at Al Jazeera ↗ · BBC ↗
Prime Minister Carney said military and emergency crews fought the flames throughout the night in "some of the worst conditions imaginable"
This lens runs the verified story through Cinnamon's AI — wired in the next step.
Four members of the Canadian military have died and dozens were injured at a base in the province of Alberta after a fire broke out in a grassy training area and spread rapidly due to strong winds.
Addressing the nation on Sunday from Ottawa, Prime Minister Mark Carney described it as "one of the worst tragedies for the forces on Canadian soil in peacetime".
The fire broke out at about 16:00 local time (22:00 GMT) on Saturday at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, one of the country's busiest military training bases, and is now contained.
"The nation is in mourning for those brave members of our armed forces who we have lost," said Carney.
The BBC has confirmed that Sgt Morgan Wong, Pte Shaun Farrell, Pte Aidan Goulding and Pte Hayden Lykkemark have died.
Of the 39 injured people being cared for in hospital, at least 19 are in a critical condition, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said at a press briefing on Sunday evening.
Fire and rescue teams are remaining at the scene to contain any potential flare-ups, Wainwright Mayor Bruce Pugh told the BBC.
Members of the infantry had been conducting "high-intensity combat training with live munitions" at a grenade range and attack range, where 10 soldiers practise attacking a simulated enemy, Maj-Gen Wade Rutland told reporters at the briefing.
"There was a multitude of ordnance moving through the Wainwright training area," he said, including a grenade launcher, grenades, small arms and ammunition.
A grass fire ignited about 1km (0.6 miles) away, with the cause currently under investigation, and moved toward the attack range.
"What I would say is there was multiple training activities happening throughout the training area at the time," he said. "Uncommonly strong winds caused the fire to spread rapidly and shift direction towards the range administrative area."
The provincial health agency said in a statement on Sunday that it deployed 30 units directly into Wainwright, including 22 ground ambulances, six fixed-wing and two rotary wing units.
"It is anticipated that care for patients impacted by this incident will be intensive and will add to existing high demand on acute care in Alberta," it said, adding that patients were being treated at facilities across the province.
STARS, the regional air ambulance service, said aircraft and crews from Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Calgary had been deployed.
Brandon Simmons, who lives in long-term care at the Wainwright Health Centre, told Reuters that when code orange was announced, nurses dropped everything and immediately started grabbing stretchers, gurneys and medical equipment before running to the front entrance.
Ambulances kept coming "throughout the night", he said.
"I heard people screaming inside of those vehicles that will never end up being out of my mind," he recalled, saying it was "like a scene from a war movie".
Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert
Read the full story at Al Jazeera ↗ · BBC ↗
Four members of the Canadian military have died and dozens were injured at a base in the province of Alberta after a fire broke out in a grassy training area and spread rapidly due to strong winds.
Addressing the nation on Sunday from Ottawa, Prime Minister Mark Carney described it as "one of the worst tragedies for the forces on Canadian soil in peacetime".
The fire broke out at about 16:00 local time (22:00 GMT) on Saturday at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, one of the country's busiest military training bases, and is now contained.
"The nation is in mourning for those brave members of our armed forces who we have lost," said Carney.
The BBC has confirmed that Sgt Morgan Wong, Pte Shaun Farrell, Pte Aidan Goulding and Pte Hayden Lykkemark have died.
Of the 39 injured people being cared for in hospital, at least 19 are in a critical condition, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said at a press briefing on Sunday evening.
Fire and rescue teams are remaining at the scene to contain any potential flare-ups, Wainwright Mayor Bruce Pugh told the BBC.
Members of the infantry had been conducting "high-intensity combat training with live munitions" at a grenade range and attack range, where 10 soldiers practise attacking a simulated enemy, Maj-Gen Wade Rutland told reporters at the briefing.
"There was a multitude of ordnance moving through the Wainwright training area," he said, including a grenade launcher, grenades, small arms and ammunition.
A grass fire ignited about 1km (0.6 miles) away, with the cause currently under investigation, and moved toward the attack range.
"What I would say is there was multiple training activities happening throughout the training area at the time," he said. "Uncommonly strong winds caused the fire to spread rapidly and shift direction towards the range administrative area."
The provincial health agency said in a statement on Sunday that it deployed 30 units directly into Wainwright, including 22 ground ambulances, six fixed-wing and two rotary wing units.
"It is anticipated that care for patients impacted by this incident will be intensive and will add to existing high demand on acute care in Alberta," it said, adding that patients were being treated at facilities across the province.
STARS, the regional air ambulance service, said aircraft and crews from Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Calgary had been deployed.
Brandon Simmons, who lives in long-term care at the Wainwright Health Centre, told Reuters that when code orange was announced, nurses dropped everything and immediately started grabbing stretchers, gurneys and medical equipment before running to the front entrance.
Ambulances kept coming "throughout the night", he said.
"I heard people screaming inside of those vehicles that will never end up being out of my mind," he recalled, saying it was "like a scene from a war movie".
Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert
Read the full story at Al Jazeera ↗ · BBC ↗
This lens runs the verified story through Cinnamon's AI — wired in the next step.
- Prime Minister Carney said military and emergency crews fought the flames throughout the night in "some of the worst conditions imaginable"