The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) said a fifth member died after an Oct. 17 training fire at its Wainwright base in Alberta, bringing the incident’s death toll to five.
Private William Douglas Dal Bianco died Nov. 13 while receiving medical care in Ontario, the CAF said in a Nov. 14 statement. Dal Bianco served in the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. Dal Bianco’s death brought the toll from the fire to five. General Jennie Carignan, chief of the Defence Staff, said the military was “heartbroken by the loss.”
The fire ignited at about 6 p.m. ET (22:00 UTC) Oct. 17 during live-fire training for Exercise APOLLO SHOOTER at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright. The CAF said strong winds intensified the blaze, which overran an administrative area used by the unit.
As of Nov. 14, 24 members remained hospitalized and 14 had been released. The CAF counted 38 injured members in addition to the five who died. The Oct. 18 statement listed four deaths and 39 injured members; after Dal Bianco died of his injuries, the Nov. 14 release listed five deaths and 38 injured members. National Defence reported 25 members still hospitalized on Nov. 4, before the latest update, in a figure also covered in EconoTimes’ earlier hospitalization update.
The Oct. 18 announcement identified the first four members killed as Sergeant Morgan Wong, Private Shaun Farrell, Private Aidan Goulding and Private Hayden Lykkemark.
The CAF said military police were conducting the investigation outside the force’s command structure. A separate Board of Inquiry is planned to review how the incident unfolded and whether its findings point to steps that could reduce the risk of a similar event. In an Oct. 22 update, the CAF said the board’s terms of reference were still being developed and gave no date for it to convene.
