4 Dead in Fire at Canadian Military Base
A massive fire at Canada's Wainwright military base killed four people and injured dozens amid strong winds.
Translated by Qiyas from الراي — Original source
Canada’s Globe and Mail reported on Sunday that a fire at a military base in Alberta killed at least four people and injured dozens seriously. The blaze, which started slowly in the grass, was whipped into a wall of flame by fierce winds.
Citing internal military correspondence, the newspaper added that the fire trapped members of the Canadian Armed Forces in a shooting range.
The Canadian government said on Sunday that four people died at the Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, but it did not publicly comment on the cause of the fire, which broke out around 4 p.m. (22:00 GMT) on Saturday in a training area at the base during winds reaching 96 kilometers per hour.
Prime Minister Mark Carney described the fire as one of the worst incidents to occur on Canadian soil involving the Canadian Armed Forces during peacetime.
Carney stated, “The country is in mourning for the brave members of our armed forces we have lost,” adding that he had ordered flags to be flown at half-mast on federal buildings across the country in honor of the deceased.
Earlier, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported, citing unnamed sources, that at least seven people had died at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright.
Canadian authorities said the situation was evolving and noted that they would not confirm the number of fatalities until next of kin had been notified.
As of 2021, 1,310 military and civilian personnel were stationed at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright.
The base, one of the largest in Canada, is located approximately 210 kilometers east of Edmonton in Alberta.
Carney said that those affected by Saturday’s fire had been transferred from military bases across the country.
He noted that military and civilian firefighting teams battled the blaze throughout the night under “some of the worst conditions imaginable.”
He added that air ambulances departed on Saturday from Edmonton and Saskatoon, located about 300 kilometers from Wainwright, heading to the military base.
CBC reported that the Edmonton medical sector declared a “Level Orange” emergency, indicating mass casualties, to coordinate the handling of patients transported from Wainwright.
The town of Wainwright, with a population of approximately 6,600, is located directly north of the base.
The municipality posted on social media that the fire had breached the base’s perimeter fence and spread to an adjacent area, but no evacuation orders had been issued. It was expected that the fire would not expand further.
