33 Canadian soldiers remain hospitalized after deadly CFB Wainwright fire

WAINWRIGHT · Defence Minister David McGuinty says 33 members of the Canadian Armed Forces remain in hospital, four days after a fast-moving grass fire swept through a training ground at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta. The fire on Saturday killed four soldiers and initially sent 39 to hospital, 19 of them in critical condition. McGuinty, who visited the base and met with recovering members on Monday, described the situation for those still hospitalized as “delicate and evolving.” He said the government will provide all necessary support to them and their families. “We will provide all the support that we possibly can to make sure they get the help that they need,” McGuinty told reporters on Tuesday.

Five churches in Wainwright have come together to plan a community vigil for the soldiers injured and killed in the fire. The service is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Wainwright Church of the Nazarene. “We want to have a message that we're together on this,” said Ryan Wood, the church's lead pastor. “We're together in supporting our military, we're together in grieving, we're together in seeking a sense of peace and even hope in all of this.” Wood said the military and church communities in Wainwright are closely integrated, with many military families belonging to local congregations.

Among the injured is Cpl. Sean Haitt, a 24-year-old member of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment. His sister, Teresa Hiatt, said he is sedated in an Edmonton hospital with burns to his face, arms and legs. “What we’ve been told, he’s going to need skin grafting. There’s going to be surgeries. There’s going to be therapy that he’s going to need to go through to regain the use of his limbs,” Hiatt said. She said the family does not yet know the extent of damage to his lungs and is also concerned about the mental toll. Hiatt has organized an online fundraiser to help her brother, whose injuries she said could be life-altering and may affect his ability to return to military service or his civilian job.

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The military has said 84 members of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry were in a training area at the base, about 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton. Maj.-Gen. Wade Rutland, commander of 1st Canadian Division, said leaders were aware of a grass fire burning about a kilometre away. He said sudden, strong winds rapidly increased the fire’s intensity and flames were “right on top” of the soldiers within 30 seconds to a minute. The four soldiers killed have been identified as Sgt. Morgan Wong of Edmonton, Pte. Shaun Farrell of Prince Albert, Sask., Pte. Aidan Goulding of North Vancouver, and Pte. Hayden Lykkemark of Langley, B.C.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday there are 50 investigators on the ground examining what happened. McGuinty said Tuesday there are three separate investigations underway. These include the RCMP working with military police, the fire marshal’s office and a Canadian Armed Forces Board of Inquiry, which examines matters of unusual significance or complexity resulting in death or serious injury. McGuinty declined to comment on whether training protocols around wind should be changed, saying it is “very difficult” to determine until all the facts are gathered.

Dr. Cheyanne Vetter, medical director of the Wainwright Health Centre, described the small hospital’s response to the mass casualty event. She said the military called the hospital on Saturday to inform staff, and within five to 10 minutes the first patients began to arrive. “Immediately we realized that the extent of their injuries was quite extreme and quite severe,” Vetter said. Staff placed two patients in each of the emergency department’s six rooms and then moved patients to the acute care floor, which was turned into a functional emergency room for the night. She said helicopters from STARS air ambulance arrived as soon as it was safe, and military medics delivered critical supplies.

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who was in Wainwright for two days, said he heard stories of astonishing bravery. “The courage of soldiers who literally ran into walls of fire to pull their brothers and sisters out of danger,” he said. He also recounted stories of severely burned soldiers in hospital “joking around with the nurses to try and make the nurses feel more comfortable.” Prime Minister Carney said he spoke with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on Tuesday morning about providing additional support for the fire victims and their families. McGuinty thanked health-care workers for their support of the injured military members.

With files from The Canadian Press, The Globe and Mail and CBC News