OMM Newsroom
A grass fire at a military training area in Alberta, Canada, killed four soldiers and sent 39 people to hospital, 19 of them in serious condition. Strong winds caused the flames to spread rapidly, AnewZ reported.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described the incident as one of the country’s worst peacetime military tragedies on its own territory.
Flames advanced one kilometre in seconds
According to Major-General Wade Rutland, commander of the 1st Canadian Division, the fire began when grass smouldered at about 4 p.m. local time on Saturday, then spread rapidly across the base’s training area.
Wind speeds reached 96 kilometres per hour. The flames advanced about one kilometre in just 30 to 60 seconds.
Rutland called the sudden intensification of the fire an unusually rapid event. “I have certainly never encountered anything like this,” he said at a news conference on Sunday.
Names of the soldiers killed released
Canadian military officials identified those killed as Sergeant Morgan Wong, Private Sean Farrell, Private Aidan Goulding and Private Hayden Lakemark.
Carney offered condolences to the families of those killed and ordered flags at federal buildings across Canada to be flown at half-mast in their memory. “The nation mourns the brave members of our Armed Forces whom we have lost,” Carney said.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said many of the injured would need specialized and intensive medical care for weeks or even months.
At the time of the fire, 85 soldiers from the 3rd Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry were taking part in an intensive exercise involving live ammunition. They were preparing to deploy to Latvia, where Canada is conducting its largest international military operation.
Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre operates at CFB Wainwright, about 210 kilometres east of Edmonton. The centre conducts military training and operational readiness exercises. In 2021, the base had about 1,310 military and civilian personnel.
Military and civilian firefighters battled the blaze throughout Saturday night in extremely difficult conditions. Emergency services sent 22 ground ambulances and eight air ambulances to the scene. Military search-and-rescue specialists parachuted into the area where the fire broke out.
Health authorities in Edmonton declared a “code orange,” signalling the need for a coordinated emergency medical response to multiple casualties. The injured were taken to hospitals in Edmonton, Wainwright, Calgary and Red Deer.
Military officials are investigating the cause of the initial grass fire. Rutland declined to speculate on how it started but ruled out the possibility of outside interference. He also said there was no indication that the area’s extensive oil and gas infrastructure had caused the incident.
The fire crossed the military base boundary and spread into the surrounding municipality. Local authorities said no evacuation order had been issued. Officials said on Sunday that the blaze was not expected to spread beyond its existing perimeter.
Canadian officials are investigating the circumstances of the tragedy and its impact on military personnel.
