Four soldiers have been killed and dozens more injured after a fast-moving fire swept through a training area at a Canadian military base in Alberta, in what Prime Minister Mark Carney described as one of the worst peacetime tragedies to strike the country’s armed forces on home soil.
Carney announced the deaths in Ottawa on Sunday, expressing condolences to the families of the victims and confirming that their next of kin had been notified.
Officials said 19 people were critically injured, eight were in stable condition, while 12 others were able to walk after receiving treatment. The cause of the fire remains unknown.
According to Canada’s Department of National Defence, the blaze erupted at about 4 p.m. local time on Saturday at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright.
Major General Wade Rutland said troops taking part in an outdoor training exercise on the Alberta prairie were caught off guard as the flames advanced with alarming speed.
He explained that within 30 seconds to a minute, soldiers who had initially seen no fire suddenly found themselves surrounded by flames.
The fire reportedly spread beyond established firebreaks before military and municipal crews managed to bring it under control.
Authorities warned that determining the cause could take at least a month. Rutland also dismissed speculation that the incident was caused by damage to an oil or gas pipeline or outside interference, although he said investigators would continue checking the infrastructure.
The Municipal District of Wainwright said strong winds had fuelled the rapid spread of the blaze, while military and civilian emergency crews battled the fire throughout the night under extremely difficult conditions.
The incident overwhelmed medical facilities in the area, with Warren Thirsk, a doctor at a hospital in Edmonton, about 200 kilometres northwest of the base, telling the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that Wainwright’s healthcare facilities had been unable to cope with the sudden influx of patients.
Carney pledged that the government would support the injured throughout their recovery and stand by military personnel and the families affected by the tragedy.
Canadian Forces Base Wainwright is one of the country’s largest military installations and regularly hosts training exercises involving Canadian troops and personnel from NATO member states.
The tragedy has also drawn condolences from NATO’s senior military leadership. Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of the alliance’s Military Committee, expressed sympathy for the families of those killed and wished the injured a full recovery, reaffirming the solidarity of NATO’s 32 allied chiefs of defence with Canada’s armed forces.
Meanwhile, the fire disrupted advance voting ahead of Monday’s vote on whether to begin the process towards a future referendum on Alberta’s independence from Canada. Provincial election officials confirmed that the advance voting station in Wainwright had been closed.
