On a windy autumn day in October, a grass fire swept across the training grounds of Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta and reached a company of young soldiers at work, and the country is still absorbing what that moment cost. Five lives have now been lost, the most recent a private who died in an Ontario hospital after weeks of care, and two dozen others remain in hospital while the military's own inquiries work toward explaining how fire came to overtake people who had gathered to learn how to defend their nation. The Prime Minister has called it among the gravest peacetime tragedies
Fifth Canadian Soldier Dies From Injuries in Alberta Training Grass Fire
Five soldiers have died from the fire's injuries, and 24 remain hospitalized.
Five soldiers dead, 24 still in hospital, and the cause still under investigation
Mark
Five soldiers dead from one training fire. What's the basic shape of what happened?
Mimi
On Oct. 17, about 84 soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, were doing attack training at Wainwright. Wind pushed a grass fire toward them. Dal Bianco died Friday in an Ontario hospital.
Mark
The prime minister used strong language.
Mimi
He called it one of the worst peacetime tragedies for Canada's military on Canadian soil, and he said the soldiers chose to safeguard the country's future.
Luke
That's his characterization, though, not a finding. Do we know what caused the fire?
Mimi
Not from this reporting. Military police are investigating, and a separate board of inquiry is looking at the circumstances.
Luke
So how the fire started, and why it reached the troops, is unknown for now.
Mark
And the injured?
Mimi
Twenty-four soldiers remain hospitalized. The military hasn't given their conditions in this account.
Luke
Which means we can't say whether the death toll will rise. Only that people are still in hospital.
Mark
What should a reader watch for?
Mimi
The board of inquiry's recommendations on preventing similar incidents, and the results of the police investigation.
El Pulso
- A wind-driven grass fire turned on about 84 soldiers mid-exercise at CFB Wainwright, and the flames arrived faster than the training could absorb.
- Five soldiers are dead, and the toll has climbed as the injured were carried away to hospitals across the country.
- Twenty-four soldiers remain in hospital, their conditions unexplained in the account released, leaving families and the unit waiting.
- Military police and a military board of inquiry are examining how the fire reached the troops, with no findings yet made public.
- Recommendations meant to prevent a repeat are the next step, and the answers the country is waiting for have not yet arrived.
On a windy autumn day in October, a grass fire swept across the training grounds of Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta and reached a company of young soldiers at work, and the country is still absorbing what that moment cost. Five lives have now been lost, the most recent a private who died in an Ontario hospital after weeks of care, and two dozen others remain in hospital while the military's own inquiries work toward explaining how fire came to overtake people who had gathered to learn how to defend their nation. The Prime Minister has called it among the gravest peacetime tragedies on Canadian soil, a judgment that places this grief within a longer story of service and its risks. What comes next depends on the quiet, careful work of investigators whose findings will decide whether such a day can be prevented from happening again.
A fifth Canadian soldier has died from injuries sustained in the grass fire that swept through a training exercise in Alberta last month. The Canadian Armed Forces announced on Saturday that Pvt. William Douglas Dal Bianco had died on Friday at a hospital in Ontario, where he had been treated since the fire on October 17 at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, southeast of Edmonton.
On that day, about 84 soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, were conducting attack training when wind drove flames toward them. The four others who died were Pvt. Shaun Farrell, 23, of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan; Pvt. Aidan Goulding, 23, of North Vancouver; Pvt. Hayden Lykkemark, 19, of Langley, British Columbia; and Sgt. Morgan Wong, 26, of Edmonton.
Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote that the soldiers were training to defend Canada and had chosen to safeguard the country with their bright futures ahead of them, calling it a service. Twenty-four soldiers remain in hospital.
Military police are investigating the fire, and a separate military board of inquiry will examine the circumstances and recommend measures to prevent similar incidents. Neither has reported findings yet, so the question of how the fire reached the troops remains open.
A fifth Canadian soldier has died of injuries from the grass fire that swept through a training exercise in Alberta last month. The Canadian Armed Forces announced the death on Saturday. Pvt. William Douglas Dal Bianco died on Friday at a hospital in Ontario, where he had been treated since the fire on Oct. 17 at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright.
The base lies southeast of Edmonton. On the day of the fire, about 84 soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, were taking part in attack training. Wind drove flames from a grass fire toward the troops.
The military said on Saturday that 24 soldiers remain in hospital. It did not say more in the account released, and the source does not detail their conditions.
The four others who died from the fire were Pvt. Shaun Farrell, 23, of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan; Pvt. Aidan Goulding, 23, of North Vancouver, British Columbia; Pvt. Hayden Lykkemark, 19, of Langley, British Columbia; and Sgt. Morgan Wong, 26, of Edmonton.
Prime Minister Mark Carney responded in a social media post. "Private Dal Bianco and his fellow soldiers were training to defend Canada," he wrote. "With their bright futures still before them, they chose to safeguard ours. That is service." Carney has described the fire as one of the worst peacetime tragedies for Canada's military on Canadian soil.
Two reviews are under way. Military police are investigating the fire itself. Separately, a military board of inquiry will examine the circumstances of the tragedy and recommend measures meant to prevent similar incidents. Neither has reported findings, and the cause and the conditions on the range that day remain the subject of those inquiries.
With 24 soldiers still hospitalized, the toll could change, and the two investigations are the next places where answers about how the fire reached the troops are expected to come.
Citas Notables
Private Dal Bianco and his fellow soldiers were training to defend Canada. With their bright futures still before them, they chose to safeguard ours. That is service.— Prime Minister Mark Carney, social media post
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