CFB Wainwright's Fire Protocol: Plan Live-Fire Shoots Before 10 a.m. in High-Risk Months
CFB Wainwright had a strict fire safety protocol in place before Saturday's deadly blaze — the kind of document investigators will be working through as they probe the tragedy.
CBC News obtained a copy of the base's Range Standing Orders on Tuesday: 137 pages, including a section on how to handle on-site fires and guidance on the best times to train during fire season.
That timing guidance is specific. During months of high fire risk, August to October, units firing should plan to conduct early morning shoots before 10 a.m., when the fire hazard is lower.
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The rule manages risk by the clock rather than by stopping the exercise: the vegetation there can ignite readily and spread rapidly, endangering troops and destroying equipment, so live fire is pushed into the hours when the hazard is lower.
A schedule cannot bind the wind, though. Rutland, commander of the 1st Canadian Division of the Canadian Armed Forces, said the fire had been burning for several hours before a sudden change in wind direction and intensity spread the flames into a training unit.