Gen. Jennie Carignan Says Speed Kept Soldiers From Escaping the Wainwright Fire
The military's top commander, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan, says the main reason soldiers couldn't escape the deadly fire at CFB Wainwright was how quickly it tore across the training area. Military officials have said the fire started because of training on an automatic grenade launcher range nearby, but the area was too dangerous for firefighters to enter. While the fire was being monitored, winds picked up and it quickly spread to where soldiers were training, officials said.
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Training has resumed at the base, and Carignan says nothing yet indicates a need for immediate procedural changes. That may be institutionally defensible, but it is a cold answer to people asking how a monitored fire reached troops.
Carignan also would not say whether firefighters were already at the training area or on their way when the fire reached the soldiers, citing the investigation. Withholding that detail is not the same as resisting changes.