Four service members have been killed with 19 more fighting for life after a fire at a military base in Alberta, Canada.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described it as one of the worst peacetime tragedies for the country’s military on domestic soil.
The four fatalities have since been named as Private Aidan Goulding, Private Shaun Farrell, Private Hayden Lykkemark and Sergeant Morgan Wong, CBC News reports.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said a further 39 people were being treated for their injuries, at least 19 of whom were in a critical condition.
Fierce autumn winds whipped flames beyond Canadian Forces Base Wainwright Saturday night and into the surrounding rural area as reservists and soldiers from Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, one of Canada’s most storied military regiments, were engaged in training exercises.
The Canadian military there were no indications the incident was the result of terrorism but the cause remains under investigation.
Local resident Brandon Simmons told CNN he saw some of the injured being taken away to hospital wrapped in tin foil blankets and described it as: “Like a scene from a war movie.”
CFB Wainwright is one of Canada’s busiest military training bases, where soldiers prepare for combat operations, and is home to the Canadian Maneuver Training Center, which conducts realistic battlefield exercises, and to the 3rd Canadian Division Training Centre.
When the fire broke out at around 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon, firefighters faced a volatile situation. Large areas of the province were hit during the day by a windstorm with gusts up to 62 mph. The wind toppled some trees and sent signs flying and garbage cans rolling down streets.
Another local resident, Hana Bartley, told CNN her town had “gone crazy” when the sirens of emergency service vehicles began to ring out, sending people racing to Facebook to speculate about what was happening.
By 11 p.m., the Municipal District of Wainwright said on social media the fire had been contained and that property and critical infrastructure were protected.
There was no evacuation order for the town’s 7,000 residents but the fire did disrupt advance voting ahead of Monday’s referendum on whether Alberta should begin a process that could lead to independence from Canada.
Elections Alberta said the advance polling location at Wainwright Communiplex closed early Saturday and ballots and election materials were transported securely.
Cathy Keane, a mayoral candidate in Ontario, said her eldest son was among the personnel critically injured. “As a mother, right now I need to be with my son and family,” she wrote on Facebook, saying she was going to Alberta.
A doctor at a hospital in the city of Edmonton, 112 miles northwest, told Canada’s national broadcaster that patients were taken to hospitals across the city as healthcare facilities around the base became “completely overwhelmed” by the number of people needing care.
“This number of patients would overwhelm the city of Edmonton,” Dr Warren Thirsk, an emergency department physician at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, told CBC.
“It is more patients than any of us want to count right now. It’s a disaster. It’s a one in every 15 to 25-year disaster.”
Acute Care Alberta said several hospitals across the province had activated a “Code Orange,” an emergency designation used when multiple severely injured patients require coordinated medical care.
The agency said emergency resources were stretched so thin that extremely few ambulances were available in the Edmonton area. It urged people to avoid the University of Alberta Hospital emergency department if possible.
Wainwright Mayor Bruce Pugh said the town’s small hospital was not designed to handle a mass-casualty incident but praised the response of local medical personnel. He said helicopters and planes had been transporting patients to other facilities for treatment.
At least 10 ambulances were parked in and around the Wainwright health center late Saturday as paramedics and soldiers rushed about. One patient was seen being loaded into an ambulance.
Defense Minister David McGuinty said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were involved in investigating the incident and described the situation as “very, very active and delicate.”
Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, McGuinty said: “I cannot recall such an incident in my short time for sure as a minister, but I cannot recall an incident like this in recent memory. We will have more to say in the coming hours and days.”
He said Armed Forces members were at the scene and that RCMP were also involved.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said his province was sending assistance while Smith, his Alberta counterpart, described the fire as “significant and tragic.”
Carney praised emergency crews who battled the fire through the night and said STARS air ambulance helicopters had flown in from Edmonton and Saskatoon.
Canadian Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre said he had spoken with the PM and defense minister to offer support to those affected by the fire.
“Pray for Wainwright, everyone,” Poilievre said in a social media post. He urged people in the area to follow emergency instructions and keep roads clear for first responders.
Read MoreMeet the researchers leaving the US because of Trump's funding cuts and politicization of science
King ‘greatly shocked and saddened’ over deadly blaze at Canadian military base
Trump’s annexation threats loom as Alberta votes on leaving Canada
Amelia Earhart search hits major snag after ‘satellite photo of plane’
GOP candidate quits after car flips in suspected drunk driving crash
Democrat who told Susan Collins to ‘shut up’ doubles down and refuses to apologize
