Fire During Training at Canadian Military Base Kills Four Soldiers, Leaves 19 in Critical Condition
Four soldiers have been killed in a fire at a military base in Canada's Alberta province. Dozens more were injured, 19 of them in critical condition. Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed the toll on Sunday (18 October), local time.
According to news agency AFP, the fire broke out on Saturday in the training area of Canadian Forces Base Wainwright. The prime minister described it as one of the worst peacetime accidents involving armed forces members on Canadian soil.
Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Carney said: 'With great sadness, the deaths of four soldiers have been confirmed and their families have been informed.' He said the government would continue providing necessary support for the treatment and rehabilitation of the injured.
At a press conference on Sunday, officials said 19 of the injured were in critical condition, eight others were stable, and 12 injured people were able to walk after receiving treatment.
Canada's Department of National Defence said the fire started at about 4pm on Saturday in the base's training area. Major General Wade Rutland said soldiers training in open ground in Alberta's prairie region were caught by a fast-spreading fire.
'The situation changed extremely quickly. At first there was no fire anywhere, but within 30 seconds to a minute the fire spread toward the soldiers,' he said. According to Rutland, the fire originated inside the training area and later spread beyond its designated safety perimeter. With help from the local administration, it was eventually brought under control, though investigators may need at least a month to determine the real cause.
A claim circulating on social media suggested the fire may have started when munitions struck a hydrocarbon pipeline and caused an explosion. Rejecting that possibility, Rutland said: 'Preliminarily, it does not appear this happened because of oil and gas infrastructure or any outside interference.'
He added that initial inspections found no sign of damage to oil and gas infrastructure, and further tests would be conducted to confirm. Wainwright's municipal administration, meanwhile, said strong winds caused the fire to spread quickly.
Prime Minister Carney said: 'Military and civilian personnel worked through the night in difficult conditions to bring the fire under control.' He noted that they had risked their own lives to protect colleagues and other Canadians.
Wainwright base, one of Canada's largest military installations, regularly hosts military training, in which soldiers from NATO member countries also take part.
NATO Military Committee Chair Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone expressed condolences over the incident. In a message on X, he sympathised with the families of the dead soldiers and wished the injured a speedy recovery, saying: 'Wainwright is a training centre where, alongside Canadian soldiers, military members of allied countries prepare for important and difficult duties.' He said the defence chiefs of NATO's 32 member countries stand with Canada and its armed forces.
After the fire, local health facilities came under heavy pressure treating the injured. Dr Warren Thirsk of a hospital in Edmonton, about 200 kilometres northwest of the base, told Canada's state broadcaster CBC that health facilities in the Wainwright area were struggling to cope with the number of injured patients.
Carney said: 'The government will stand beside the injured soldiers at every stage of their recovery, with treatment and rehabilitation.' He also assured necessary support for the bereaved families. Attention now turns to the investigation — it may take at least a month to learn how the fire spread so fast across the training area.
