WAINWRIGHT, Alberta — The fire that killed four Canadian soldiers and hurt 39 more at an Alberta army base last week started on an automatic grenade launcher range during routine training, Canada’s top military police officer said Thursday.
Brig. Gen. Vanessa Hanrahan, who leads Canada’s military police as Provost Marshal, said the blaze broke out Oct. 17 at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright. She did not say whether live explosive rounds set it off.
At first the flames stayed inside a restricted zone of the range known as Permanent Danger Area 2. Ground in such areas can hold unexploded munitions, so firefighters could not attack the fire directly and instead kept watch on it through the day. Then a cold front brought a sharp shift in wind direction and speed, and the fire raced into another training area where soldiers were working. Hanrahan said there was no sign natural gas lines played any part.
About 84 soldiers from Charlie Company, a unit of the Princess Patricia’s regiment, along with reservists, were training at two sites that day. Fire danger was rated extreme, high wind warnings were posted and the vegetation was very dry.
The Canadian Armed Forces said 27 soldiers were still in the hospital Thursday and 12 had been released. The military police probe continues. The army has also opened a board of inquiry, while the province’s chief medical examiner conducts a separate review. Gen. Jennie Carignan, the chief of the defence staff, has pledged to make the board’s findings public.
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Filed under: Tampa FL Public Safety News
