Alternate sources:
- https://globalnews.ca/news/12106709/cfb-wainwright-fire/
- https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2293498/carney-incendie-wainwright-base-forces-armees-alberta
- https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-major-fire-at-cfb-wainwright-in-alberta/
- https://www.castanet.net/news/Alberta/634801/Deaths-and-injuries-after-explosion-at-Alberta-military-base
Statement from Defence Minister David McGuinty via. CPAC: https://youtube.com/watch?v=2wGfoK3nqOs
Excerpts:
Acute Care Alberta says EMS are on the scene providing care and transport related to the emergency at the military base about 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.
He said Armed Forces members are at the scene and that RCMP are also involved.
David McGuinty, speaking to reporters late Saturday in Ottawa, said he had no other details to share, including the number of casualties or what happened.
As McGuinty delivered the news, fire crews in Alberta were battling a blaze raging between the base and the nearby town of Wainwright.
Asked if the town was threatened by the fire, McGuinty said he understands people there are actually helping the base with the injured and the fire.
Firefighters are facing a volatile situation. Large areas of the province were hit during the day by a windstorm with gusts up to 100 kilometres an hour. The wind toppled some trees, sent signs flying and garbage cans rolling down streets.
CFB Wainwright is a massive military training base located 200 kilometres from Edmonton. It’s one Canada’s busiest and is used mainly to train soldiers and prepare units for combat operations.
It’s also the site of the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre, which prepares military units to operate together in realistic battlefield conditions, as well as the 3rd Canadian Division Training Centre, which provides basic infantry training.
Seven dead as of current reporting, with an unknown number of injuries.
Let’s hope those numbers don’t grow too much.
Awful news.
I feel like they could have chosen a more appropriate pic for the thumbnail on this one.
Temu Wolverine and Smiling Devil Lady don’t really convey the gravity of the event.
I’m able to swap it, I switched it to the image with the ambulances. Open to suggestions
CBC had the same one I figured everyone was using it - there must not be many other pics yet (which would make sense…)
BBC also reporting on it - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr86z0w4lxdxo
According to Global’s coverage, this was a live fire exercise gone wrong;
The explosion was caused by a live-fire training exercise hitting a gas line or gas well on the base around 4 p.m. MT, multiple Canadian Armed Forces sources told Global News.
Call before you bomb.
There’s a reason why entire groups calling out ‘fire in the hole’ multiple times before setting off explosions is done. They need to warn anyone who might be nearby.
It feels like a bit of an oversight to not have all of those sandbagged right up. Unless, I guess, it was something ground penetrating.
Remember, in CAF parlance, “live fire” includes artillery, missiles, and 2000lb bombs. Sandbags aren’t gonna do much against those.
Edit to add: Which isn’t really the point, because you don’t put live fire within kilometers of anything like that on purpose. This was either a major fuck up or - more likely - something that wasn’t known about, like a naturally occurring gas pocket that was ignited by an explosive round.
I’m going to “suggest” that the latter is far, far more likely to have been the case in this particular instance.
Yeah, all correct. If sandbags wouldn’t work for what you’re firing, don’t do that there. Somehow, it happened, though. According to Global, anyway.
I’d be surprised if, just, casual pockets of natural gas still exist near the surface, like that. Those are the first places wells get put in, historically, and a lot of wells are over a kilometer deep now.
Methane infrastructure is a god damned pox.
It’s dangerous as fuck.
I would guess it has a significantly better track record than gasoline. Probably better than electricity, too - that stuff is invisible death.
Not green, sure. Probably dangerous in a target range, sure.
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Awful news. My condolences to the families of those lost.
