By Sumayya
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) says that finishing its deep Board of Inquiry investigation into the tragedy at CFB Wainwright could take up to a year.
The CAF explains that the Boards of Inquiry (BOI) is a “fact finding investigation which will try to determine how an incident came about and what lessons can be learned to prevent recurrence.”
“While timings can vary greatly depending on file complexity, the typical Board of Inquiry investigation (BOI) can take anywhere between nine to 12 months to ensure that its investigation is comprehensive and its recommendations are robust,” said National Defence media relations spokesperson Cheryl Forrest in an email to CTV News. Prime Minister Mark Carney had said on Monday that 50 investigators are on the ground in Wainwright. The Canadian Armed Forces says that the BOI investigation will run at the same time as separate but complimentary investigations led by the National Investigation Service. It will be done with help from the military police, the RCMP, Alberta’s chief medical examiner, and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Fire Marshal.
The BOI report is also the document that Canada’s top soldier, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan, has promised to make public.
On Wednesday, Defence Minister David McGuinty said that the BOI investigation had not actually started yet.
“(CAF) is working their way forward now on terms of reference. The question is, of course, who would be on that board of inquiry? What’s the appropriate balance. Those are the details we’re looking at,” he said. McGuinty added that the timeline would be up to the Canadian Forces to decide.
Residents show support
Around the same time that McGuinty was talking to reporters, dozens of Wainwright residents were lining up on both sides of a highway near the military base. They wanted to show support for the battalion who survived a fast-moving brush fire that surrounded their fellow soldiers. Most of the residents were members of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry or the Loyal Edmonton Regiment.
Flanked by a line of seven police vehicles, two buses carrying an unknown number of soldiers drove past a group of people waving Canadian flags. People clapped, while other military members saluted. The buses were on their way back to Edmonton.
In her update, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said on Wednesday afternoon that 27 CAF members stayed in the hospital, with 13 of them in critical condition. The Department of National Defence says that 12 members have been released from the hospital.
The brush fire on Saturday claimed the lives of Sgt. Morgan Wong, Pte. Shaun Farrell, Pte. Aidan Goulding, and Pte. Hayden Lykkemark. Thirty-nine people were initially taken to the hospital.
The members were taking part in a “high-intensity” combat training exercise done by the Third Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
During a weekend press conference, military officials said that a fire, pushed by strong winds, moved one kilometer in less than a minute. It jumped “on top” of “Charlie” company. The company is made up of more than 80 soldiers.
Major General Wade Rutland said that a smaller group of 10 members, who were practicing attacks on a fake enemy using hand grenades, were hit the hardest when the wind suddenly changed direction.
A grass fire had been burning on the practice range for a few hours. It was located a kilometer away from the training exercise and was being watched by range control. One wildfire expert interviewed by CTV News questions why the training continued when there was an “extreme” weather forecast on that day.
“The winds were extreme and there was a cold front moving across the region. All of those things can align. If you have an active wildfire and if you have an ignition – it can produce incredible rates of spread,” said Jen Beverly, a wildland fire researcher at the University of Alberta.
“I’m surprised that (CAF) would be undertaking any activities that posed a risk of igniting fires or put personnel in the vicinity of an active fire during the forecast conditions.”
The weather forecast for Saturday, Oct. 17 in the Wainwright area called for wind gusts up to 90 km/h. Beverly says the presence of a cold front, combined with high winds, can cause a fire to spread in a brand new direction. Beverly says that type of fire behavior is “well known as a threat to personnel on the ground among firefighting agencies.”
The associate professor says that investigators will likely take samples from the surrounding grasslands to measure the “fuel loadings.” “(The grass) has been growing all summer. Now it’s in a dry cured state and there’s absolutely enough fuel there that you would expect flame lengths higher than a person. Perhaps even higher.”
Beverly has not visited CFB Wainwright, but she visited CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick a couple of years ago to learn about CAF fire management habits.
“My impression at the time was that they were well informed about the decision support and fire behaviour tools that are used by other agencies that manage fires across the country,” she said.
Beverly says she was told by military personnel that their training activities often started fires on the range and that they were “well equipped and well trained to manage those incidents.”
Other soldiers have told CTV News that CFB Wainwright has man-made firebreaks, such as sand pits and ponds across the range.
In his first briefing, Major-Gen. Rutland said the cause of the brush fire, which had been burning for hours, had not yet been decided and that the flames crossed over a fire break.
