Wainwright fire victims honoured at Remembrance Day ceremonies

Analysis

Hundreds of people gathered for Remembrance Day ceremonies in Alberta on Wednesday to honour Canadian troops, including four soldiers killed and dozens injured last month in a fire during a training exercise at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright. The ceremonies in St. Albert and Wainwright specifically remembered the victims of the Oct. 17 tragedy, which Prime Minister Mark Carney has called one of the worst peacetime tragedies for the Armed Forces on Canadian soil. Roughly 300 members of the soldiers' regiment marched into the service in St. Albert, a community northwest of Edmonton, while another service was held at an arena in Wainwright, where the fire occurred.

Families gather as recovery continues

Among those attending the St. Albert ceremony was the family of Private Liam Ramage, a 27-year-old soldier from Red Deer County who suffered severe burns to 40 per cent of his body in the fire. Ramage remains in the intensive care unit at the University of Alberta Hospital in critical but stable condition. His mother, Cheryl Ramage, said her son has undergone multiple skin grafts and has had partial and full amputations of all his fingers. After suffering three strokes, the infantryman was paralyzed on one side, though his family says he is slowly regaining some movement. Ramage has been taken off a ventilator and is now able to breathe and speak on his own. "He's nonstop talking," said his wife of three years, Marisa Ramage. "I had a great conversation with him yesterday, it was great. It's nice to be able to talk to him and have him answer me."

READ MORE: Four soldiers killed, dozens injured in fire and explosion at Alberta military base

READ MORE: Remains of soldier killed in CFB Wainwright fire returned to B.C

Despite these positive steps, Marisa Ramage said her husband's progress often feels like one step forward and five steps back. His mother said that as Liam regains consciousness, he is in a lot of pain and cries out despite painkillers and the efforts of hospital staff. Ramage was supposed to have finished his weapons training at CFB Wainwright on Nov. 5, and his wife said they had planned to attend the St. Albert Remembrance Day ceremony together. Instead, his loved ones gathered there in his honour as he lies in a hospital bed. The family is collecting donations through a GoFundMe campaign to help them remain by his side and fund his future rehabilitation.

Ceremonies honour the fallen

The Remembrance Day ceremony in Wainwright began with a moment of silence at the 11th hour and included words about the deadly fire at the nearby base. The four soldiers killed were Private Shaun Farrell, 23, of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan; Private Aidan Goulding, 23, of North Vancouver; Private Hayden Lykkemark, 19, of Langley, British Columbia. And Sergeant Morgan Wong, 26, of Edmonton. Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre attended the Wainwright service, along with other dignitaries, military members and veterans. Poilievre, who visited the town shortly after the fire, said he heard astonishing stories of bravery from the injured soldiers. "The courage of soldiers who literally ran into walls of fire to pull their brothers and sisters out of danger," he said at the time. "Soldiers who were burned head to toe in the hospital, some with their vision lost, actually joking around with the nurses to try and make the nurses feel more comfortable."

In St. Albert, Padre Major (Retired) Reverend Ken MacRae addressed the gathering. "There are cenotaphs all around our country filled with names and sadly, a few new names will be added to the roles of fallen soldiers," MacRae said during the ceremony. "Our prayers go out to the family, the friends, our comrades that are in grief." He said it was imperative to remember those fighting for recovery in hospital. "People around our country are thinking and praying for your recovery," MacRae said. "Your friends and your comrades here today on parade are cheering you on and want to encourage you to keep on fighting." He also prayed for Captain Kenneth Kunkel, who was left with life-altering injuries in an assault in Hamilton, Ontario, this month while supervising air cadets collecting donations for poppies.

The fire occurred during an attack training exercise involving roughly 84 soldiers with the Charlie Company unit of the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry based at CFB Edmonton. The Canadian Armed Forces said strong winds sent flames from a grass fire onto the troops. In addition to the four fatalities, 39 soldiers were injured. As of Nov. 5, 21 of those injured remained in hospital, with many recovering in Alberta's two highly specialized burn units. Three investigations are looking into what happened. Private Liam Ramage was among those injured. Despite his own serious wounds, his family said he was still trying to save his fellow soldiers when first responders arrived at the scene. He was rushed to Edmonton, where he was so badly injured his wife and mother had to identify him by his feet. He suffered extensive burns to his face, head, neck, hands, arms, legs and back.

Ramage enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces in 2024 after participating in cadets as a youth, where he advanced to the top as a regimental sergeant major. Since joining the military two years ago, he has served in Latvia and at the G7 gathering in Kananaskis, Alberta. Nosy Mag reported in November that the remains of one of the soldiers killed, the 23-year-old from North Vancouver, had been returned to British Columbia. As the community continues to mourn, MacRae reflected on the cost of service. "As we look at the cenotaph, we realize that serving our country can sometimes come with a very large cost," he said.

With files from Global News, CityNews and Yahoo News