A fifth Canadian soldier has died from injuries suffered in the Oct. 17 fire during a training exercise at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta, the Canadian Armed Forces said.
Pte. William Douglas Dal Bianco died Nov. 13 while receiving medical care in Ontario, the Canadian Armed Forces said in a Nov. 14 release.
The Canadian Armed Forces said Dal Bianco served with the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
They said 24 of the 38 injured members are in hospital and 14 have been released.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of Private William Douglas Dal Bianco,” said Gen. Jennie Carignan, chief of the defence staff, in the release.
Carignan pledged to honour Dal Bianco’s service and support those affected by the fire. She also thanked those providing care to injured members and their families.
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In a Nov. 4 update, the Canadian Armed Forces said four hospitalized members had been transferred to facilities closer to their home communities in B.C. and Ontario.
The Canadian Armed Forces said the transfers followed medical assessments and were intended to allow treatment closer to relatives and loved ones. It also said injured members and their families would receive support through designated assistants serving as points of contact.
The Canadian Armed Forces identified the four soldiers killed Oct. 17 in its Oct. 18 release as Sgt. Morgan Wong, Pte. Shaun Farrell, Pte. Aidan Goulding and Pte. Hayden Lykkemark.
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In its Oct. 18 release, the Canadian Armed Forces said Wong was a member of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment serving with 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. The three privates belonged to the Edmonton-based battalion.
Members of the battalion were conducting live-fire training as part of Exercise Apollo Shooter when strong winds helped a fire spread rapidly into the unit’s administrative area, according to the Canadian Armed Forces.
At an Oct. 22 briefing, Maj.-Gen. Wade Rutland, commander of the 1st Canadian Division, said the soldiers were preparing for a pairs firing exercise when the flames reached their position.
Vista Radio’s Oct. 22 report described a pairs exercise as two soldiers alternating between firing and covering one another.
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Rutland said the fire had been known about before it reached the soldiers but had not initially been considered a threat.
“Canadians and families are rightly asking how that assessment was reached, what information it was based on, and whether different decisions should have been made,” Rutland said.
Vista Radio reported Oct. 22 that military firefighters and municipal crews responded while soldiers and medical personnel treated the injured. The report said patients were initially taken for care in Wainwright before being transferred to hospitals elsewhere in Alberta.
In an Oct. 22 statement, the Canadian Forces provost marshal said the fire was reported on an automatic grenade-launcher range during routine military training.
The provost marshal’s statement said the fire was initially burning within a designated range danger area, which restricted direct firefighting. It was monitored throughout the day before a change in wind direction and speed increased its intensity and spread.
In a separate Oct. 22 update, the Canadian Armed Forces said military police were investigating whether any criminal or service offences had occurred. The Canadian Armed Forces also announced a separate board of inquiry to examine the incident.
The Nov. 14 release from the Canadian Armed Forces did not include investigation findings or new details about what ignited the fire.
