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Live Grenade Exercise Triggers Deadly Fire at Canadian Military Base
· Confirmed
In Short: A live grenade exercise at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta sparked a fast-moving fire that killed four soldiers and injured 39 others.
A live grenade exercise at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta sparked a fast-moving fire that killed four soldiers and injured 39 others, with 27 requiring hospitalization.
The fire broke out during high-intensity combat training involving Charlie Company of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, on Saturday afternoon.
Brigadier-General Vanessa Hanrahan, a military official, said the fire initiated on the automatic grenade launcher range as a result of routine military training.
The blaze was initially confined to the range's 'Permanent Danger Area 2,' where firefighters were unable to directly combat it due to safety protocols.
A subsequent change in wind direction and velocity significantly increased the fire’s intensity, causing it to spread rapidly across the training area.
Major-General Wade Rutland described the sudden high winds and resulting spread as an 'uncommon, rapid' event, with the flames advancing nearly a kilometer in less than a minute.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the incident 'one of the worst tragedies for the forces on Canadian soil in peacetime' and ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff on federal buildings nationwide.
The fire was part of training exercises ahead of a planned deployment to Latvia, where Canadian forces have their largest international military operation.
Military officials believed the fire was sufficiently contained for hours before it broke out, and the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service was leading the investigation, with support from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The Canadian Armed Forces said training resumed at the base, and the entire battalion was expected to redeploy in the coming days while the military reviewed ammunition and range and training safety standards.
There was no indication that natural gas infrastructure was involved in the fire, and the investigation is ongoing to determine the exact cause.
The fire killed four soldiers and left 27 in hospital, with 19 of the 39 injured in critical condition.
Background
Four Canadian soldiers died and 39 were injured when a fast-moving fire swept through a military training exercise at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright.
A major blaze at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta killed four people and injured dozens more.
What's confirmed
- Four soldiers died and 39 were injured, with 27 requiring hospitalisation.
- About 84 soldiers were split between a grenade range and an area where they practised attacks on simulated enemy positions.
- “A subsequent change in wind direction and velocity significantly increased the fire’s intensity,” she added, with the flames spreading to a training area at the Wainwright military base in Alberta.
- The soldiers and reserve members were participating in exercises ahead of a planned deployment to Latvia, where Canadian forces have their largest international military operation.
- Brigadier-General Vanessa Hanrahan said the fire initiated on the automatic grenade launcher range as a result of routine military training happening on that range at the time.
What's still developing
- Firefighters monitored it because it was in Permanent Danger Area 2 Major-General Wade Rutland said the timing of the exercise would be part of the review, and he cautioned against reading too much into the training-range standing orders that advised early morning shoots when fire risk is lower.
- About 2,000 to 2,200 Canadian personnel are deployed in the small European country.