Grenade-launcher range fire on CFB Wainwright kills four soldiers, injures dozens

A fire broke out on Oct. 17 on the automatic grenade-launcher range at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, Alberta, during standard training drills. Brig. Gen. Vanessa Hanrahan explained that the blaze first stayed within the range’s Permanent Danger Area 2, limiting firefighting efforts, but a sudden shift in wind direction and speed caused it to spread rapidly toward a second training site.

The fire engulfed soldiers from the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and Army reservists, killing Sgt. Morgan Wong, Pvt. Shaun Farrell, Pvt. Aidan Goulding and Pvt.

Hayden Lykkemark, and injuring 39 others, 27 of whom remain in hospital. Prime Minister Mark Carney described the flames as “driven by ferocious winds” that jumped nearly a kilometre in under a minute, and announced a 50-person investigative team. The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, supported by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, will probe whether wind conditions or vegetation contributed and whether safety protocols need revision. The soldiers were preparing for a NATO deployment to Latvia next spring.