4 dead after major fire breaks out at Canadian military base

Four service members were killed and dozens more seriously injured in a major fire Saturday at one of Canada’s largest and busiest military bases, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday.

“Yesterday afternoon, a violent, fast-moving fire swept through Canadian Armed Forces Base in Wainwright, Alberta,” Carney said at a press conference. “What followed was one of the worst tragedies for the forces on Canadian soil in peacetime.”

The prime minister added that the four service members’ next of kin had been informed of their deaths. Officials on the ground will deliver “a detailed account and a formal briefing” later on Sunday.

“The nation is in mourning for those brave members of our armed forces whom we have lost,” Carney said. “And I have asked the flags on all federal buildings to be flown at half-mast to honor them.”

The Canadian Armed Forces said the fire broke out within the base’s “training area” on Saturday afternoon and then “spread rapidly” beyond that area’s boundaries.

The cause of the blaze remains unclear, but a large number of patients have been taken to the hospital. An official at the Department of National Defence told CBC that there was no indication of terrorism.

The fire began at the base in Wainwright, a town in eastern Alberta, according to officials, and “spread rapidly due to high winds,” said the municipal district in a Facebook post Saturday evening. A call for assistance came around 4 p.m., according to the Wainwright Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith expressed her gratitude to emergency workers in Alberta and from neighboring Saskatchewan for quickly responding to the fire.

“In the days ahead, our thoughts will remain with everyone affected by this tragedy,” Smith wrote in a post on social media. “Alberta stands with the Canadian Armed Forces, the people of Wainwright and all those grieving during this difficult time.”

Canada’s defense minister, David McGuinty, said in a video statement “that there have been both fatalities and injuries as a result of an incident on the base.”

Late Saturday night, the municipal district said the fire was “being held at this time,” though fire crews would continue to monitor the area.

Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Wainwright, located about 210 kilometers (130 miles) southeast of the provincial capital Edmonton, is one of the country’s most important army bases. It houses the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre and the 3rd Canadian Division Training Centre. It’s also a training ground for army field force units based in Edmonton.

Earlier, Carney said that the fire had stemmed from “a serious incident,” without providing details.

A code orange, which designates an emergency response protocol for a high number of patients, was declared at hospitals in Alberta shortly after the fire broke out, according to CNN’s newsgathering partner CBC, citing emergency department physician Dr. Warren Thirsk at the city’s Royal Alexandra Hospital.

“It’s a one in every 15 to 25-year disaster,” Thirsk said, adding that Wainwright’s healthcare centers have been “completely overwhelmed.” Patients are now being diverted to hospitals across Edmonton. Emergency Health Services Alberta deployed 30 units to Wainwright: 22 ground ambulances, six fixed-wing units and two rotary-wing units.

By Sunday afternoon, the code orange had lifted, CBC reported, citing Acute Care Alberta.

Bruce Pugh, the mayor of the neighboring community of Wainwright, said the fire had crossed the base fence, but was kept under control by firefighting teams. He said the fire would have a profound impact on his community, noting, “we share our lives” with the service members at the military base.

“We have neighbors who are either serving or former members of the Canadian Armed Forces. We’re integrated, our kids playing the same hockey teams, attend the same schools,” Pugh told CBC, adding “we’re also really worried about our community members and friends and neighbors who work in our Wainwright hospital.”

CNN has reached out to the Royal Alexandra Hospital, other Edmonton health centers, and Alberta Health Services for comment. CNN has also reached out to the military base, the Wainwright fire department, the Alberta premier’s office, and the municipal district.

The Canadian Armed Forces, the federal government, provincial and local authorities are cooperating “to mobilize all necessary support, and working through the details of what actually occurred,” McGuinty said.

No evacuation order has been issued. Authorities have asked residents to avoid the incident area, keep roads clear, and avoid visiting the Wainwright Health Center except for critical medical needs.

“I cannot recall such an incident in my short time for sure as a minister … I cannot recall an incident like this in recent memory,” McGuinty said in the video statement, responding to a journalist’s question.

Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre also wrote in a post that he had spoken to McGuinty and Carney about the fire, thanked emergency responders, and added: “Pray for Wainwright, everyone.”