r/CanadianForces • • 3d ago

SUPPORT A summary of ongoing events related to Wainwright fire + how to help

181 Upvotes

Based on what happened over the weekend I think people want information about what is happening. There is lot of information coming out regarding the fire in Wainwright. I've done my best to provide the publicly available information below, please contribute verified, publicly released information if you wish

Members recovering in hospital

I am aware of other names shared on social media but will only post those shared to the press here.

'Not out of the woods': Family rallies around soldier badly burned in CFB Wainwright fire Sean Hiatt is in an Edmonton hospital with burns to half of his body

Son of Oro-Medonte, Ont., mayoral candidate 'critically injured' in CFB Wainwright fire

GoFundMe Set Up For Local Soldier Injured At CFB Wainwright

Info about injured members in general and burn injuries

33 military members injured in CFB Wainwright fire remain in hospital: minister

CFB Wainwright fire highlights long, painful process of burn recovery, specialists say

Wainwright fire highlights challenges in caring for critical burn patients

Nurses from Ontario heading to Wainwright to assist recovery efforts

What happened and why

initial reports

'Normal' for Armed Forces to conduct training near fires: top military commander

Full interview of General Carignan

How did this deadly Alberta fire spread so fast?

Conditions for wildfire were 'extreme' at Wainwright Saturday, experts say

Fires often break out during military training. What's the protocol?

How weather may have worsened the Canadian military base explosion

Imagery of burned area

From /r/Canada megathread:

https://imgur.com/a/I92Vlh7

Before and after satellite photo from CBC

Response to fire and investigation

Canada Deploys 50 Investigators to Probe Military Base Fire That Killed 4 Soldiers

Findings from fatal CFB Wainwright fire investigation will be made public, top commander says

Analysis

Wainwright fire shows the importance of health‑care system resilience to Canadian security

Misinformation Spreads After Deadly Fire at CFB Wainwright and What Caused It

Fire at Canadian military base highlights need for more burn unit beds

Response by Canadians

Wainwright Health Centre director describes mass casualty event at hospital | Hanomansing Live

Calgary rallies for Wainwright through blood donations, other supports

Red Deer hospital cares for soldiers from CFB Wainwright fire

Calgary rallies for Wainwright through blood donations, other supports

Canadians respond to need for blood donations after Wainwright disaster

Canadians step up to give blood after fire at Alberta military base kills four

How to help:

Canadians called on to help Wainwright fire victims

New

Support our Troops - CFB Wainwright Support Fund

They are looking for people who live in Red Deer/Calgary/Edmonton, especially those who live near the big hospitals, to billet families of the victims. Email info@legacyplacesociety.com with your contact details and where you live.

Legacy Society

Donate to the support our troops fund. They provide support and emergency grants to members and families.

Support Our Troops

Donate to Edmonton MFRC, they have borne the brunt of this and are working hard to support families.

Edmonton MFRC

Donate blood or plasma which is needed to treat burn injuries.

Canadian Blood Services

Support Wounded Warriors Canada

WWC

Support Together We Stand

Together We Stand

Soldier On

Find out how you can help locally in your community especially families going through this. Talk to your friends and see how they are handling it. Emotions are running high right now and we need to look after each other.

How to get help

Canadian Forces Member Assistance Program (CFMAP): 1-800-268-7708 -- For 24/7 confidential professional counselling for regular and reserve members and their families

CFMAP

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) 1-800-663-1142 For crisis and short-term counselling for employees and their families

EAP

DND specific EAP

Family Information Line (FIL): 1-800-866-4546 or email FIL-LIF@cfmws.com -- For 24/7 bilingual, confidential counselling and referral services for military families

Family Information Line

Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) Assistance Service: 1-800-268-7708 -- For 24/7 psychological support for Veterans, former members, and their families

Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988 for toll-free, 24/7 support across Canada

Help for children and youth (Catholic school link providing secular public resources)

Support Resources for Families

Edit: updated to add help resources

Edit 2: added article about 3rd soldier in hospital

Edit 3: Added analysis section

Edit 4: Corrected FIL email address, added link

Edit 5: Legacy Place is now reporting they have filled the families needs for accommodations

https://www.facebook.com//p/1FtLirw7jJ/

Updates for 21 Oct

Information on casualties

27 soldiers still hospitalized, 13 in critical condition after CFB Wainwright fire: Smith

Barrie community mourns four soldiers killed in CFB Wainwright fire, supports injured service members

This name was not released previously only that it was her son

Among those hospitalized due to the fire was Liam Keane, son to Cathy Keane, a candidate running for mayor of Oro-Medonte. She confirmed on Facebook she was putting the campaign aside so that she and her husband could travel to be by their side.

Three of the soldiers are from Ontario and in “dire health conditions,” and the eastern province is sending 19 burn nurses and five operating room nurses to assist Alberta medics, Smith added.

‘You just feel so helpless’: Family of soldier badly burned in CFB Wainwright fire holds onto hope

The tragedy unfolded Saturday afternoon as soldiers conducted live-fire training at the military base in Alberta. Military officials say a nearby grass fire, initially considered under control, was driven by a sudden shift in powerful winds, rapidly overtaking soldiers in the training area.

Prolonged, fragile recovery ahead for soldiers severely burned at CFB Wainwright

Doctors who specialize in treating severe burn injuries say the wounded soldiers face long, painful recoveries fraught with threats of infection, complicated wound care, respiratory issues and organ failure.

“Patients with large burn injuries will have hospital stays that will be counted not in days or weeks, but in months,” said Dr. Vincent Gabriel, medical director of the Calgary Firefighters Burn Treatment Centre at Foothills Hospital.

Support

This report states that Westjet is offering "zero based fares" to families affected by the Wainwright fire

Nurses from Ontario heading to Wainwright to assist recovery efforts

Reaction by Canadians

BMO Supports Canadian Defence Community Following CFB Wainwright Tragedy

BMO donates $175,000 to support the Canadian Armed Forces community. Funding helps CFB Wainwright Fund at Support Our Troops', Wounded Warriors Canada and Together We Stand. Contributions will help provide financial assistance, mental health resources and peer support for military members, veterans and families affected

‘Wainwright stands with you’: Residents line highway to support soldiers after fire

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During the highway tribute Wednesday, two military helicopters flew over head as the two Forces buses drove slowly past the crowd.

McGuinty said there are three investigations going on. This includes the RCMP working with military police on the formal investigation, the fire marshal’s work and the Canadian Armed Forces Board of Inquiry that examines matters of unusual significance or complexity resulting in the death or serious injury of military personnel.

Support pours in for Prince Albert family of Pvt. Shaun Farrell

Heloise Vermeulen, a friend of the Farrell family, has also organized a GoFundMe campaign to help cover funeral costs and related expenses.

Other fundraising campaigns have been circulating online, but Farrell’s mother warned the public in a Facebook post to be cautious of fake donation pages, saying Vermeulen’s GoFundMe page is the only legitimate one.

Military safety rules urged early-morning training before deadly Wainwright fire

From the video Legacy Place received 800 offers of accommodation by the communities for the families of the injured soldiers.

Influx of Albertans donating blood after Wainwright tragedy

Wainwright AB FaceBook page, lots of stuff here

What happened and why

Retired major-general weighs in on what may come next after deadly fire on military base

At 1:20 states that at the time the fire index was LOW at the time of the incident.

How the deadly CFB Wainwright fire got so dangerous, so fast

At the 60 second mark the expert explains what happened to the fire that made it so ferocious in simple terms. Excellent explanation of fire behaviour.

Wainwright fire burned for hours as volatile weather closed in: analysis

The military let training continue at CFB Wainwright on Saturday even though a fire had been burning on the base since noon and forecasts had already warned of high winds, dry conditions and an approaching cold front.

Maj.-Gen. Wade Rutland, commander of the 1st Canadian Division, said at a press conference Sunday that a fire burned on the base “for several hours” before it engulfed the units at approximately 4pm, six hours after the document recommends October live-fire training.

Training continued “for a certain amount of time,” Rutland said, because commanders believed the fire was contained.

Fires often break out during military training. What's the protocol?

But current and former military generals say it is not uncommon for training exercises to continue near active fires.

"Fires break out in all of our training areas frequently," Denis Thompson, a retired Canadian Armed Forces major general, told CBC News Network on Monday. "I mean, we're dealing with live ammunition."

Canada's chief of defence staff, Gen. Jennie Carignan, confirmed that fires are a "normal occurrence" that happen during training when soldiers are preparing to deploy overseas.

Environment Canada had issued yellow alerts for much of southern and eastern Alberta, with strong winds forecast to reach up to 100 km/h, coupled with an incoming cold front.

A cold front moved through the area around 4 p.m., Flannigan said, bringing a roughly 10 C drop in temperature and a sharp shift in wind direction that pushed the fire northwest toward the training area.

CFB Wainwright Tragedy: Building a timeline in a fast-moving fire


r/CanadianForces • • 22d ago

RECRUITING, TRAINING, & LIFE IN THE FORCES THREAD

7 Upvotes

Ask here about the Recruitment Process, Basic & Occupational Training, and other questions relating directly or indirectly to serving in the Canadian Armed Forces.

This thread will be automatically renewed on the 1st of each month at 00:00 Eastern Time.

PLEASE READ THE RULES OF THE THREAD BEFORE COMMENTING (BELOW USEFUL RESOURCES SECTION)

USEFUL RESOURCES (Most linked pages are bilingual French/English):

RULES OF THE THREAD:

  1. Off-topic comments, outdated information, and wrong answers will be removed at moderator discretion.
  2. Please don't ask or answer questions through PM's. Ask and answer questions in the thread where other people seeking the same information can see it.
  3. Questions regarding medical eligibility are now allowed. However, be aware that nobody here is verified as able to provide a qualified answer. Respondents are reminded that it is against site wide rules to provide medical advice.

DISCLAIMER:

Community members answering in the vein of CAF Recruiting may not have specific information pertaining to your individual application status or files. The information presented in this thread should be current, but things do change. Refer to the forces.ca site or your local CFRC detachment for the current official answer. This subreddit, moderators, and users hold no responsibility or liability as to the accuracy of information, given or received. All info here is presented as "at your risk."


r/CanadianForces • • 2h ago

Yesterday, the RCAF received its first two CF35As at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona

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196 Upvotes

r/CanadianForces • • 1h ago

SCS EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

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• Upvotes

r/CanadianForces • • 1h ago

SCS What talking about the new CMAR feels like as a veteran

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• Upvotes

r/CanadianForces • • 7h ago

Photo of the new BACS and MPS

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158 Upvotes

BACS = Body Armour Carriage System

MPS = Modular Pack Systems

Just wanted to show the new system's. Sorry if it was already posted before.


r/CanadianForces • • 18m ago

SCS I'm more than my awesomely colorful obscene language!

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• Upvotes

r/CanadianForces • • 1h ago

SCS [They did not in fact treat them right]

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• Upvotes

r/CanadianForces • • 41m ago

SCS Just clean it up and somebody wake up the guy sleeping on the floor in the laundry room

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• Upvotes

r/CanadianForces • • 21h ago

Devastating fire at CFB Wainwright started on automatic grenade launcher range, official says

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152 Upvotes

r/CanadianForces • • 3h ago

Can a career course run with only 2 staff to teach it?

6 Upvotes

2 teaching staff, roughly 40 students and a 4 week course.

Is this possible or does it go against policy?


r/CanadianForces • • 1d ago

Fraudulent fundraisers, disinformation spread following CFB Wainwright tragedy

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134 Upvotes

r/CanadianForces • • 9h ago

Non-commissioned to Commissioned member

4 Upvotes

I'm a HRA - Reservist, and I'm attending my weekend Basic Military Qualification (BMQ) training.

Initially, I applied to become a commissioned officer, but due to a lack of vacancies, I joined as a reservist in the HRA trade.

I have a few questions regarding the process of transferring from a non-commissioned member (NCM) to a commissioned officer:

  1. Can I submit a request for a transfer to the commissioned officer route while I'm still completing my BMQ?
  2. When would be the best time to initiate this request?
  3. Are there any specific eligibility requirements, such as completing certain CAF courses, gaining a minimum amount of service, or obtaining relevant experience, before I can apply for a commission?
  4. What is the application and approval process for this type of transfer?
  5. Approximately how long does the process take?

I would appreciate any guidance or advice on the best way to pursue this career path. Thank you!


r/CanadianForces • • 1d ago

Map we made of the Savio Bridgehead where Smokey Smith won his Victoria Cross, October 1944

84 Upvotes

Former Geo Tech with 2 CER, and I retired to map military history. This is a video of the Battle of the Savio Bridgehead, fought by the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and the West Nova Scotia Regiment.

This is an often overlooked and little understood battle, that is dwarfed by the events of DDay, Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge.

Most people know the battle because of Private Ernest "Smokey" Smith, who earned his Victoria Cross here by yeeting a Piat at a Panther tank.

We built a whole system to map out this battle down to the minute and sometimes even section level. All of it was built from war diaries, defensive overprints, aerial imagery etc.

Our goal is just to share knowledge of Canadian Military History.

Hope you like it.

PS, there is no sound or narration. I spent all night working on narration, but it didnt sync properly. And its my first long cut video. So it isnt perfect.

We will learn from what we did here, and make it better for future versions. So constructive feedback is helpful.


r/CanadianForces • • 1d ago

Carney announces trade and defence partnership with Turkey

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117 Upvotes

r/CanadianForces • • 22h ago

AMA 427 SOAS Command Team (23 October 2026)

6 Upvotes

In case RCAF folks haven't seen this on DWAN, there is a daylong AMA with 427 SOAS Command Team along with several other members of the 427 SOAS team on RCafe tomorrow (23 October 2026).

https://hangar.cloud.forces.gc.ca/discussions/24142


r/CanadianForces • • 1d ago

SUPPORT Donate Blood Please.

348 Upvotes

My unit 3ppcli had a wildfire incident few days ago, it has claimed 4 lives and over 30 casualties. Many whom are still fighting for their lives with over 50 percent burned.

Sorry if this wrong place to post this but.

We just had the biggest mass casualty event since Korea war, alot of my friends are 80-90% burned and might not make it, alot of them are in Royal Alexandria or U of A hospital.

Please donate blood if you are in Canada they will direct it to the right hospitals.

Thanks.


r/CanadianForces • • 1h ago

SCS Duelling banjos intensifies

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• Upvotes

r/CanadianForces • • 1d ago

Has anyone used Air Canada's baggage allowance benefit?

36 Upvotes

Asking here instead of on an airline sub because I figure many people here will actually have done this. I'm travelling soon and I'm wondering about others' experience taking advantage of the perk.

One of my flights will be Air Canada connecting to another Star Alliance airline. Has anyone had a similar situation and checked their bag for free, and it made it to the final destination including being checked on the second leg of the trip? Feel free to share anything else interesting if you've used the perk before.


r/CanadianForces • • 21h ago

Grievance Advice - 35 Year Max CFSA/PSSA

0 Upvotes

Cross posted to r/CanadaPublicServants please recommend any other subs, if appropriate.

I have been with the Public Service and have been paying into the PSSA since 2019. Since 2002, I have also been a Primary Reservist, and did a significant amount of time on class B/C. I currently pay into the "Reg F" pension, the CFSA Part 1.

Due to my dual remuneration, I am now in a position where I will hit my 35 years quite soon. My intent is to release from the CAF, then re-enroll once my pension has been sorted (whole different story).

I'm looking to submit a grievance over the 35 year max limit, specifically the double-counting of my class A years. Essentially wanting to get my case heard in hopes it can help change the policy, or maybe to have a denial on record for if it ever does change.

Looking for any guidance or experience on this. Should I submit through both CAF and PS? Any suggested cases I should review? Any external resources I should engage, while I'm still a CAF member, or in the period after I release, or as a public servant?

Thanks for your help.


r/CanadianForces • • 2d ago

Canadian Officers Don’t Want to Serve in the U.S. Anymore

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329 Upvotes

r/CanadianForces • • 1d ago

Impact on federal union's pay on the CAF?

30 Upvotes

Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) is currently in the process of contract negotiations, with wage being one of the key demands.

I heard a rumour that the CAF's pay raise is tied to one of the federal union's pay raise. Is that an official policy from the Treasury Dept? If so, does the CAF follow PSAC's pay raise or some other federal union?


r/CanadianForces • • 1d ago

Pilot VOT-U SIP

0 Upvotes

Hello,

I recently attended CFAST and received a very competitive score for Pilot. I also have my air factor and my file is ready to be sent up my CoC.

Does anyone know whether there might be plans to have some VOT-U spots for Pilot in the new fiscal year? I’ve tried talking to my BPSO but I haven’t received any information regarding this.

I will remain untrained until September 2028 and would like to know whether this is a possibility as there haven’t been any VOT-U spots for Pilot in a while, but I was hoping that with FAcT coming online that there might be a higher intake.

I would appreciate any help regarding this topic. Thank you!


r/CanadianForces • • 23h ago

Military Service Pay

0 Upvotes

Is the military service pay (lump sum) still being planned for December pay out? Any intel?


r/CanadianForces • • 2d ago

From the caf community on Reddit

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76 Upvotes

NEW JOINING INSTRUCTIONS COMING SOON!

Input sought.