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More than half of those injured in the Oct. 17 fire at the Canadian Forces Base in Wainwright, Alta., remain in hospital.Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters
A fifth member of the Canadian Forces has died as a result of injuries sustained from the deadly fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta, the Department of National Defence confirmed to The Globe and Mail.
Private William Douglas Dal Bianco, of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, who was among those seriously injured in the fire, died on Friday in Ontario, according to the Canadian Armed Forces.
General Jennie Carignan, Chief of the Defence Staff, offered her condolences to Private Dal Bianco’s family, friends and those who served alongside him in a statement on Saturday.
“We will honour his dedicated service and continue to stand with all those affected by this tragedy along the difficult road ahead. My thoughts are also with our injured members and their families, and I am deeply grateful to everyone involved in providing care and support during this time of tremendous sadness,” she said.
The death toll from the Oct. 17 fire at CFB Wainwright has risen to five, up from four deaths reported in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Twenty-four of the 38 injured soldiers remain in hospital.
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The incident is one of Canada’s worst peacetime training tragedies on home soil, with dozens more injured than the Slesse Range disaster in 1988 that killed six military engineer trainees and seriously injured three others during a demolition exercise at CFB Chilliwack.
The majority of the injured suffered extreme burns that require multiple surgeries and extensive rehabilitation. Some of the individuals receiving care in hospital have had more than 50 per cent of their body scorched by the flames.
David McGuinty, Canada’s Minister of National Defence, also offered his sympathies in a statement on Saturday to the loved ones of Private Dal Bianco. “No words can ease the pain of losing a loved one, and my thoughts remain with all those affected by this tragedy,” he said.
Mr. McGuinty said the federal government will honour Private Dal Bianco’s “service, dedication and sacrifice to Canada” and remains committed to supporting the families affected by the fatal fire.
Before Saturday, the military provided its last update on the casualties on Nov. 4, saying 14 soldiers had been released from hospital, and four others were transferred from Alberta to health care facilities closer to their home communities, including in British Columbia and Ontario where they will continue receiving care.
Three funerals have been held and one is planned for the other soldiers who died in the fire: Sergeant Morgan Wong, 26, of Edmonton; Private Shaun Farrell, 23, of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan; Private Aidan Goulding, 23, of North Vancouver, B.C.; and Private Hayden Lykkemark 19, of Langley, B.C. All four were Edmonton-based members serving with the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
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CFB Wainwright, located 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton, is used as a combat and live-fire training ground for troops about to go overseas. Officials said the soldiers who died were among those training for deployment to Latvia, as part of the NATO presence to deter Russian aggression in the Baltics.
The deadly blaze began as a smouldering grass fire that was whipped into a “wall of flame” by high winds, according to military officials.
There are multiple investigations under way into the fire, including by Alberta’s chief medical examiner and the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, a military police unit.
The military promised a board of inquiry to examine the circumstances of the fire and adequacy of safety protocols, but the board has not yet been convened.
At a news conference last month, Brigadier-General Vanessa Hanrahan, the military’s top police officer, said the fire had started hours earlier on CFB Wainwright’s automatic grenade launcher range and was monitored continuously for hours. She did not say whether the firing of live ammunition or explosive rounds ignited the fire.