A fire at Canada’s Wainwright military base was sparked by an exercise involving live grenades, killing four soldiers and injuring 39 others, a military official has said.
The blaze began on a grenade launcher range during combat training at the Alberta base before high winds drove it into a nearby area where troops were practising attacks on simulated enemy positions.
Brigadier-General Vanessa Hanrahan, commander of the Canadian Forces Military Police Group, said a shift in the wind made the fire significantly more intense. “A subsequent change in wind direction and velocity significantly increased the fire’s intensity,” she told reporters.
Firefighters could not tackle the flames directly because the blaze was inside the range’s “permanent danger area”, General Hanrahan said.
The incident occurred during high-intensity training involving Charlie Company of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. Around 84 soldiers were divided between the grenade range and the separate training area, which was later reached by the fire.
Four soldiers died and 39 were injured. Twenty-seven of those hurt required hospital treatment, making the incident one of the worst peacetime tragedies in the Canadian military.
The troops, including reserve members, had been taking part in exercises ahead of a planned deployment to Latvia. Canadian forces have their largest international military operation there.
Wainwright is one of the largest bases operated by the Canadian Armed Forces and regularly hosts exercises involving personnel from Nato countries.
