Canadian Armed Forces officials are scheduled to hold a media briefing Wednesday to provide an update on the fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta that killed four soldiers during a training exercise.
The briefing, announced by the Department of National Defence, comes after a grass fire swept through the base on Saturday, Oct. 17. Four soldiers died and dozens more were injured. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Sunday that 39 patients remained in hospital, with at least 19 in critical condition.
Officials confirmed the deaths of Pte. Aidan Goulding, 23, from 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI), originally of North Vancouver; Pte. Shaun Farrell, from 3rd Battalion PPCLI, of Prince Albert, Sask.; Pte. Hayden Lykkemark, from 3rd Battalion PPCLI, of Langley, B.C.; and Sgt. Morgan Wong, 26, a reservist from the Loyal Edmonton Regiment serving with 3rd Battalion PPCLI.
Goulding joined the military in February of this year, his mother, Sonia Monk, told CBC News. She said officers came to her door in British Columbia around 11 p.m. Saturday to inform her of his death.
“He was always the guy who kept everybody’s spirits up,” Monk said. “He really was the light of my life.”
Wong earned a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Alberta and served in Latvia from October 2024 to June 2025, his family said. Farrell’s mother, Patricia Farrell, asked for privacy in a social media post.
The cause of the fire and reports that it set off a series of blasts remain under investigation, officials said.
In a statement, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe offered condolences to Farrell’s family, and B.C. Premier David Eby recognized Goulding and Lykkemark. The Loyal Edmonton Regiment Association said in a social media post: “We will remember them.”
Canadians stepped up to give blood following the fire, according to Global News.
Sources: Global News Canada · CBC Politics