On a grenade launcher range at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta, a training day that began as routine turned into a reckoning when winds shifted and carried flames toward a battalion of young soldiers. Weeks later, the human cost has deepened: Pvt. William Douglas Dal Bianco died in an Ontario hospital, making him the fifth to be lost to that October fire. The loss sits within a longer Canadian story of young people who train to protect others and sometimes pay for that choice with their lives. What remains unsettled is less the fire itself than the judgment that let the exercise con
Fifth Canadian Soldier Dies of Injuries From Oct. 17 Fire at Wainwright Military Base
Five Canadian soldiers have now died from injuries sustained in the fire, and 24 others remain hospitalized.
They believed it was contained and allowed training to continue
Mark
Five soldiers are dead now. What's the new fact here?
Mimi
Pvt. William Douglas Dal Bianco died Friday in an Ontario hospital, nearly a month after the Oct. 17 fire. He had been treated there since the fire at Wainwright.
Mark
And how many are still in hospital?
Mimi
The military says 24 remain hospitalized, out of about 84 soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, who were training.
Luke
Worth noting that the report doesn't say how badly those 24 are hurt. So we can't say what the toll may become.
Mark
What's the most pointed detail about how it happened?
Mimi
Maj. Gen. Wade Rutland said officials knew about the fire for hours, believed it was contained, and let training continue until winds shifted suddenly.
Luke
That's the military's own account, though. It's not an investigative finding. The inquiries haven't reported yet.
Mark
What are those inquiries?
Mimi
Military police are investigating the fire, and a separate board of inquiry will look at the circumstances and recommend ways to prevent a repeat.
Luke
And we don't yet know what started the fire or when results might come. Carney promised answers as expeditiously and transparently as necessary, but gave no date.
Der Puls
- A fifth Canadian soldier has died after the October 17 fire swept through troops training on a grenade launcher range.
- About 84 soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, PPCLI, were caught when winds suddenly pushed flames toward them.
- Twenty-four soldiers remain hospitalized, and their conditions have not been detailed by the military.
- Officials admit they knew of the fire for hours and let training continue, believing it was contained.
- Military police and a board of inquiry are now examining causes, prevention, and the decision to keep training.
On a grenade launcher range at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta, a training day that began as routine turned into a reckoning when winds shifted and carried flames toward a battalion of young soldiers. Weeks later, the human cost has deepened: Pvt. William Douglas Dal Bianco died in an Ontario hospital, making him the fifth to be lost to that October fire. The loss sits within a longer Canadian story of young people who train to protect others and sometimes pay for that choice with their lives. What remains unsettled is less the fire itself than the judgment that let the exercise continue while the danger was still being weighed.
On Friday, Pvt. William Douglas Dal Bianco died in an Ontario hospital, where he had been treated since the fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright on October 17. The Canadian Armed Forces announced his death on Saturday. He is the fifth soldier to die from injuries sustained that day.
About 84 soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, were conducting attack training on a grenade launcher range southeast of Edmonton when winds pushed flames toward them. The military says 24 soldiers remain in hospital.
Prime Minister Mark Carney honoured Dal Bianco, writing that he and his fellow soldiers chose to safeguard Canada's future. Four others died earlier: Pvt. Shaun Farrell, Pvt. Aidan Goulding, Pvt. Hayden Lykkemark, and Sgt. Morgan Wong, the youngest only nineteen.
Military police are investigating the fire, and a separate board of inquiry will recommend measures to prevent similar incidents. Maj. Gen. Wade Rutland acknowledged that officials had known about the fire for hours, believed it contained, and allowed training to continue until the winds shifted. How the inquiries weigh that decision will shape what comes next.
On Friday, Pvt. William Douglas Dal Bianco died in a hospital in Ontario, where he had been treated since the Oct. 17 fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta. The Canadian Armed Forces announced his death on Saturday. He is the fifth soldier to die of injuries from that fire.
The fire swept through troops during a training exercise at the base, which lies southeast of Edmonton. About 84 soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, were doing attack training when winds pushed flames from a fire toward them. Officials said last month that it happened on a grenade launcher range.
The military said Saturday that 24 soldiers remain hospitalized. It did not detail their conditions in the material released.
Prime Minister Mark Carney marked Dal Bianco's death 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."
Four others were killed earlier. They 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.
Two inquiries are under way. Military police are investigating the fire itself. Separately, a military board of inquiry will examine the circumstances and recommend measures to prevent similar incidents.
One detail from the military's own account bears on both. Maj. Gen. Wade Rutland said officials had known about the fire for hours. They believed it was contained and allowed training to continue, until the winds suddenly shifted.
Carney has described the fire as one of the worst peacetime tragedies for Canada's military on Canadian soil. Last month he told reporters, "We will get the answers to what caused this terrible tragedy, as expeditiously and transparently as necessary." What the two investigations find about the decision to keep training going is the question to watch.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
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
Officials knew about the fire for hours but believed it was contained before winds suddenly shifted.— Maj. Gen. Wade Rutland (paraphrased)
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