WAINWRIGHT, Alta.—When Chuck Powell heard sirens, he knew something was wrong.
asserted
something → hear → sirens
Posted to Wainwright, Alta., in 1987 as a military policeman, the 72-year-old, like many retired servicemen who call the small Prairie town home, is used to the blasts and artillery fire from the neighbouring base.
asserted
who → post → base
That had been especially true in recent days, with a training exercise happening even as gusts of wind swept through the area.
asserted
gusts → happen → area
For those who live close to CFB Wainwright’s training area, the entire house shakes, sometimes even causing windows to break.
But it was the sirens that set off the alarm.
asserted
that → live → alarm
“That’ll be the memory,” Powell recalls.
asserted
Powell → recall → ?
Fire trucks raced by his home.
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trucks → race → home
Then came the aircraft.
asserted
aircraft → come → ?
“My first thought was, they’re loading up casualties,” he said to the Star.
asserted
he → load → Star
“Something has happened.”
asserted
Something → happen → ?
After a chaotic 24 hours, when the nature of what unfolded at CFB Wainwright and the extent of the casualties remained elusive, it was confirmed that four soldiers had been killed in a fast-moving fire during a training exercise, with another 39 people in hospital, 19 in critical condition.
asserted
people → unfold → condition
Those killed were: Sgt. Morgan Wong from Edmonton, Pte. Aidan Goulding from North Vancouver, Pte. Shaun Farrell from Prince Albert, Sask., and Pte. Hayden Lykkemark from Langley, B.C.
All were based in Edmonton, serving with 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
Prime Minister Mark Carney called what happened “one of the worst tragedies for the forces on Canadian soil in peacetime.”
He ordered flags lowered on federal buildings Sunday.
asserted
flags → kill → buildings
Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill, Carney said the country “is in mourning” and is standing with affected military families.
asserted
country → speak → families
“Military and civilian crews fought this fire throughout the night in some of the worst conditions imaginable, risking their lives to protect their fellow Canadians,” Carney said.
asserted
Carney → fight → Canadians
“We will be there for their families for as long as they need …
asserted
they → need → families
They will not carry it alone.”
asserted
They → carry → it
Among the issues investigators were probing was why such training went ahead given the forecasted gusts of wind.
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went → probe → wind
Maj.-Gen. Wade Rutland, commander of 1st Canadian Division, confirmed a fire had been noted burning about a kilometre away with troops in the field.
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fire → confirm → field
” it struck one section.
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it → strike → section
“This was uncommon, rapid, and I certainly hadn’t seen anything like it.
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I → see → it
Certainly, we train in all types of conditions,” he said, and now “the base will collaborate on whether training needs to cease” in such conditions.
asserted
training → train → conditions
Rutland refused to speculate on the actual cause of the fire.
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Rutland → refuse → fire
“It is not normal for a fire to move a kilometre in 30-60 seconds.”
asserted
fire → move → seconds
He said a formal board of inquiry will now probe the cause and the response, an in-depth investigation that may take at least a month.
uncertain
that → say → month
Fateh Nanouh, who serves with Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in Edmonton, lost two friends in Saturday’s blaze, and two more who are fighting for their lives.
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who → serve → lives
He told the Star that Farrell was exceptionally skilled at combat and always wanted to be a soldier.
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Farrell → tell → combat
Lykkemark’s dream was to become a sailor, Nanouh said.
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Nanouh → become → ?
He never got mad.
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He → get → ?
He always solved problems for other people.
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He → solve → people
He was always the person to talk to when you needed something,” he said.
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he → talk → something
Nanouh, who has conducted training out of the Wainwright base, is with a different unit than his friends, so he was not participating in Saturday’s exercises.
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he → conduct → exercises
“It could have been me,” he said.
uncertain
he → say → ?
In Wainwright, a town more than 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton, the lives of the community and the base are intertwined.
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lives → intertwine → community
The sign welcoming visitors to the community of fewer than 7,000 proudly declares, “We Salute Our Military.”
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We → welcome → Military
The clock tower in the middle of the town square, surrounded by quiet streets and the storefronts typical of a small town, commemorates its war dead.
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tower → surround → dead
On Sunday mornings, residents gather at the Royal Canadian Legion Worthington Branch 29 for breakfast, including after church.
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residents → gather → church
Afterward, some head around the corner and down the street to the pub at the Park Hotel.
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some → head → Hotel
At the bottom of Main Street, across the road, the local museum occupies the historic train station, preserving the town’s heritage.
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museum → occupy → heritage
Tony Buzik credits the base with giving the rural Alberta town its future.
“It’s allowed us to grow, so where so many towns have gotten smaller in the last 50 years.”
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towns → credit → years
Buzik was at the Park Hotel on Saturday when someone working there said their parents got a call that doctors were rushing to the local health centre after reports of a catastrophe at the base.
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doctors → work → base
A “Code Orange” was declared in hospitals across the province, including Edmonton, where the injured were airlifted.
asserted
injured → declare → Edmonton
…and 30 more, not listed.
The Aporia
