From BBC News · · 1m 40s
Fire spreads a kilometre in seconds at Canadian military base
Four service members killed and 39 injured when a grass fire moved with alarming speed at a training exercise in Alberta.
In brief
Four service members killed and 39 injured when a grass fire moved with alarming speed at a training exercise in Alberta. Four Canadian military personnel died and 39 were injured when a grass fire spread unusually fast across Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta on Saturday. Originally reported by BBC News.
Fire spreads with alarming speed
A grass fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta spread rapidly on Saturday due to strong winds, killing four military personnel and injuring dozens of others.
Fire moved a kilometre in seconds
Maj-Gen Wade Rutland, commander of the first Canadian Division, said the fire was one kilometre away when the wind shifted.It is not normal for a fire to move a kilometre in thirty to sixty seconds.
“It is not normal for a fire to move a kilometre in 30 to 60 seconds.”
Four soldiers identified as victims
The BBC confirmed that Sgt Morgan Wong, Pte Shaun Farrell, Pte Aidan Goulding and Pte Hayden Lykkemark died in the fire. Of thirty-nine injured people in hospital, at least nineteen are in critical condition.
Training was live-fire combat exercise
Infantry members were conducting high-intensity combat training with live munitions at a grenade range and attack range when the fire broke out at about four pm on Saturday.
Cause remains under investigation
Authorities ruled out terrorist activity and oil and gas infrastructure involvement. Maj-Gen Rutland said the investigation may take at least a month to determine what exactly caused the fire.
Prime Minister calls it worst peacetime tragedy
Prime Minister Mark Carney described the fire as one of the worst tragedies for the forces on Canadian soil in peacetime. Wainwright is one of Canada's busiest military training bases.
The short version
Four Canadian military personnel died and 39 were injured when a grass fire spread unusually fast across Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta on Saturday.
