A soldier of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Pte. William Douglas Dal Bianco, has died of injuries from a fire that swept through Canadian Forces Base Wainwright during live-fire training on October 17. Driven by high winds, the blaze spread into an administrative area and left forty-three members injured, making his death the fifth. It is the kind of loss that reminds an institution, and a country, how much risk is carried by those who train for danger, and how grief must follow the reckoning of what went wrong.
Fifth Soldier Dies From Injuries in October Fire at CFB Wainwright
Five soldiers have died and 43 were injured, with 24 still in hospital and 14 released as of Saturday.
A fire that started where crews could not reach
Mark
Five soldiers are dead now. What changed with this announcement?
Mimi
Pte. William Douglas Dal Bianco, of 3 PPCLI, died Friday from injuries he suffered in the Oct. 17 fire. The military announced it the next day, making him the fifth death.
Mark
And how many were hurt overall?
Mimi
Forty-three were injured. As of Saturday, five had died, 24 were still in hospital, and 14 had been released.
Luke
Worth noting those numbers come from the Canadian Armed Forces itself. They're the official tally, but that's one source, and the hospital figure is a snapshot from Saturday.
Mark
What do we know about how the fire started?
Mimi
It broke out during live-fire training and was pushed along by high winds, then overtook an administrative area. An official said earlier that it began on an automatic grenade launcher range crews couldn't reach.
Luke
That origin is attributed to an official, and I'd keep it that way. Nothing here says a review has reached a conclusion on the cause.
Mark
Why does the unreachable range matter?
Mimi
Because it's the gap between a training fire and a deadly one. Whether it could have been stopped earlier is what a review would have to answer.
Luke
Right, but we don't know the answer. The reporting doesn't say what happened in the response, or why the fire reached that area.
Mark
So what are we waiting on?
Mimi
The official review, and the condition of the 24 still in hospital.
Der Puls
- A training exercise on an automatic grenade launcher range became a fire that high winds pushed beyond its boundaries.
- Forty-three members were hurt, and the death toll has now reached five with a sixth loss not ruled out while twenty-four remain in hospital.
- Army and Forces leadership are offering public condolences while the military works to explain how crews were unable to reach the source of the fire.
- The story is heading toward an official cause review, with attention on why the fire grew into an administrative area and what changes may follow.
A soldier of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Pte. William Douglas Dal Bianco, has died of injuries from a fire that swept through Canadian Forces Base Wainwright during live-fire training on October 17. Driven by high winds, the blaze spread into an administrative area and left forty-three members injured, making his death the fifth. It is the kind of loss that reminds an institution, and a country, how much risk is carried by those who train for danger, and how grief must follow the reckoning of what went wrong.
Pte. William Douglas Dal Bianco, a soldier with the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, died on Friday from injuries he suffered in the Oct. 17 fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright. The Canadian Armed Forces announced his death the following day. He is the fifth member to die as a result of the fire.
The fire broke out during live-fire training, and high winds drove it across the base until it overtook an administrative area. Forty-three members were injured. As of Saturday, twenty-four remained in hospital and fourteen had been released.
Lt.-Gen. Michael Wright, commander of the Canadian Army, said the Army will remember Dal Bianco's dedicated and honourable service and stands with his family, friends and colleagues. Gen. Jennie Carignan, the Chief of the Defence Staff, said the military is heartbroken, will honour his service, and extended her thoughts to the injured and their families.
Earlier reporting, attributed to an official, said the fire began on an automatic grenade launcher range that crews could not reach. What the formal review has found is not yet known, and with patients still in hospital, the toll could change.
Pte. William Douglas Dal Bianco, a soldier with the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, died on Friday of injuries he suffered in the Oct. 17 fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright. The Canadian Armed Forces announced his death in a media release the following day. He is the fifth member to die as a result of the fire.
The fire broke out during live-fire training on the base. High wind speeds drove it, and it overtook an administrative area of the base. Forty-three members of the Canadian Armed Forces were injured.
As of Saturday, the military said five of the people caught in the fire had died. Twenty-four remained in hospital, and 14 had been released. Those figures account for all 43 injured members, and the count of dead sits within that group as the military described it.
Lt.-Gen. Michael Wright, commander of the Canadian Army, said in a statement that the Army will remember Dal Bianco's dedicated and honourable service to the Canadian Armed Forces and to Canada. He said the Army stands with the soldier's family, friends and colleagues during what he called a difficult time.
Gen. Jennie Carignan, the Chief of the Defence Staff, said the military is heartbroken by the loss of Dal Bianco. She said the Forces will honour his service and continue to stand with everyone affected along the difficult road ahead. She also extended her thoughts to the injured members and their families, and said she is deeply grateful to everyone providing care and support.
Earlier reporting, attributed to an official, said the fire began on an automatic grenade launcher range that crews could not reach. That detail bears on the question of how a training fire grew into one that reached an administrative area, though the material available here does not say what the formal review has found.
With 24 members still hospitalized, the toll could change. What to watch for next is the official review of the cause, and how the military accounts for a fire that started where crews could not get to it.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
We are heartbroken by the loss of Private William Douglas Dal Bianco.— Gen. Jennie Carignan, Chief of the Defence Staff
The Army will remember his dedicated and honourable service and stands with his family, friends and colleagues.— Lt.-Gen. Michael Wright, commander of the Canadian Army (paraphrased)
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Das Original lesen bei CP24 Toronto ↗