The deadly fire at an Alberta military base first began on an automatic grenade launcher range during routine exercises, officials say. The original location of the fire meant crews could not properly fight it and instead monitored the flames before high winds would change the course of the evening. The Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Wainwright fire killed four and initially sent 39 wounded to various hospitals across the province. Officials confirmed Thursday that number was down to 27 patients, with 13 in critical condition. Maj.-Gen. Wade Rutland of the 1st Canadian Division has said Saturday’s blaze began as a grass fire, but a violent windstorm sent flames racing toward soldiers training at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright. Environment Canada confirmed that a fast-moving cold front on Saturday brought wind speeds between 90 and 130 km/hr over much of the province. A yellow wind warning was issued in Wainwright at 2:14 p.m. local time. The worst of the wind, a spokesperson said, is estimated to have hit the town at speeds of up to 105 km/hr just over an hour later. Canadian Forces Provost Marshal Brig.-Gen. Vanessa Hanrahan says some 30 military police are actively working to examine what happened on that weekend; investigating witness accounts, specialist expertise and reviewing the scene of the fire. She emphasized that no evidence points to a criminal cause so far and no natural gas infrastructure was involved. The investigation is now expected to take longer than what Rutland previously told the public would be about a month. Three separate investigations are underway, led by the board of inquiry, military police and the chief medical examiner’s office. Boards of Inquiry are led by the Canadian Armed Forces and can take nine to 12 months before findings are publicly release, according to the federal government. Rutland told reporters during a press conference in Edmonton Thursday that military officials were dedicated to ensuring an “honest account” of the details leading up to the fire. He added that piecing together the minutes of the day will be ongoing and require the firsthand accounts of soldiers who remain in hospital. Risk mitigation Rutland says the investigation will also look at the military base’s risk mitigation and assessment of danger before the flames overtook the base. It will also seek out whether future steps need to be taken to prevent another such incident. Rutland said the military knows it must review its safety regulations, but emphasized Saturday’s devastating fire was an anomaly. “We’ll be reviewing things like our ammunition and our range and training safety standards. Concurrent and ongoing investigations will examine every aspect of what happened,” he said. Officials said the fire had spread at a rapid pace, bypassing fireguards and flying toward what’s called a pair’s range — where two soldiers work as a team to practise live-fire exercises. Previously, officials had said the fire had leapt to the section attack range. “The nature of military service,” Rutland added, is to train for realistic combat environments, meaning soldiers train daily in risky environments with the necessary precautions. “The fact that military responsibility carries risk does not lessen the fact that we must find out what happened.” Aftermath and community response In the minutes after fire broke out, Rutland credited soldiers on the base for not hesitating to get their teammates to safety and emergent medical attention. He recommends donating to accredited military non-profits to continue pouring into the injured soldiers and asks those interested in attending public funerals to be patient out of respect for grieving families. Dr. Sayeh Zielke, CEO of Acute Care Alberta, said the Albertan and cross-country response from medical professionals after the fire “was nothing short of heroic.” Roughly 150 people attended a vigil late Wednesday at a church in the nearby town of Wainwright, Alta., southeast of Edmonton. Prayers were said, songs were sung and the names of those killed were read aloud, followed by a moment of silence. Mayor Bruce Pugh says the last few days have been tough, but activities at the base have started to return to normal. The entire battalion is expected to redeploy in the coming days. With files from the Canadian Press
