The blaze erupted Saturday afternoon during high‑intensity live‑fire exercises with Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, at a base in Wainwright, Alberta.
Major General Wade Rutland said military officials had known of the fire for hours but believed it contained until winds shifted, sending flames within a kilometre in 36 seconds.
Four soldiers—Sergeant Morgan Wong of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment and Privates Shaun Farrell, Aidan Goulding and Hayden Lykkemark of the 3rd Battalion—were killed, while 39 others were treated, 19 critically, at four hospitals.
Prime Minister Mark Carney declared the incident one of the worst peacetime tragedies for Canada’s military, lowered flags nationwide and promised a formal board of inquiry.
Municipal and provincial responders mobilised 22 ambulances, six aircraft and two helicopters, aided by Saskatchewan units, and activated "Code Orange" at four hospitals to accommodate the surge.
Investigators will examine whether safety protocols were breached; the base had been preparing for rapid deployment to Latvia next spring.
Cathy Keane, mayoral candidate in Ontario, said her eldest son was among those critically injured, underscoring the human toll.