Wainwright Mayor: Remembrance Day Will Feel Different After Base Fire
Four soldiers died and 39 were injured in the Oct. 17 blaze at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, and the town prepares to honor them Wednesday.
By Lorenzo Evans ·
Mayor Bruce Pugh of Wainwright, Alberta, said the town is preparing for a solemn Remembrance Day ceremony on Wednesday following a fire that killed four soldiers last month. The incident occurred on Oct. 17 at the nearby Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, where strong winds whipped a grass fire into a field exercise involving roughly 84 soldiers from the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. Officials reported that 25 of the 39 injured personnel were still hospitalized as of last week.
The four soldiers killed were Sgt. Morgan Wong, 26, of Edmonton; Pte. Shaun Farrell, 23, of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan; Pte. Aidan Goulding, 23, of North Vancouver, British Columbia; and Pte. Hayden Lykkemark, 19, of Langley, British Columbia. Prime Minister Mark Carney described the event as one of the worst tragedies for the Canadian Armed Forces on Canadian soil during peacetime. Three separate investigations are currently examining the cause of the fire and the response to it.
Hundreds of military personnel, residents, and dignitaries are expected to gather at the local ice rink for the annual ceremony. Pugh noted that wreaths and flowers will also be placed at the town’s fieldstone clock tower. This tower, which has stood in a downtown roundabout for about a century, commemorates Canadians who died in the First and Second World Wars. The town, home to approximately 7,000 people, is located 210 kilometres southeast of Edmonton and hosts one of the busiest military bases in Canada.
The community is deeply intertwined with the base, where military children attend local schools and play hockey. Residents are accustomed to hearing artillery blasts and feeling windows shake during training. Pugh stated that the community feels a weight from the event, saying, “It will be different this year just with the weight of what happened.” He added that he gets a sense that things will never be the same in this small military community.
CN Rail, a local employer for several military members, announced it will station locomotives outside the Wainwright arena on Wednesday. The railway stated that it recognizes this year’s Remembrance Day comes at a particularly difficult time following the tragedy. Among the injured is Sean Hiatt, a 24-year-old corporal with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment who also worked as a railway track maintenance supervisor for CN Rail.
Jennifer Ford, an archivist with the Wainwright and District Museum, said the mood in the town has been serious since the fire. She noted that the community is close-knit, with many families serving in the military. Ford recalled that the site was formerly Buffalo National Park before the Department of National Defence took it over around 1939. During the Second World War, the base temporarily housed roughly 1,100 German officer prisoners of war.
The federal budget announced last week includes $25 million over two years to support those affected by the fire. Ottawa stated it has a responsibility to support military members and their families. Pugh expects the town to receive significant attention this year, noting that the idea of freedom comes with a cost that is sadly paid by those willing to serve.
Ford shared a historical anecdote from the Second World War, when a guard noticed a hockey game between guards and prisoners on his first day. She said some prisoners later decided to stay in Canada because they liked the country. The base has since grown into the large military installation that serves as a central part of Wainwright’s identity.
