Posted on 10/18/2026 4:09:04 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Gas line reportedly hit during a training exercise, triggering a large blaze in Alberta
At least four people have been killed and dozens more injured after a large explosion at one of Canada’s busiest military bases.
A gas line was hit during a live-fire training exercise at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, in Alberta, at 4pm on Saturday, according to reports.
Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, called the incident “one of the worst tragedies for Canadian forces on Canadian soil in peacetime”.
At an address on Sunday, Mr Carney said: “Four service members have lost their lives and their next of kin has been notified. Dozens more are seriously injured.”
The Canadian military has not officially confirmed the cause of the blaze, but army sources told Global News it was the result of an accident during live-fire training.
David McGuinty, the Canadian defence minister, said the military and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were investigating the incident.
He added: “I’m saddened to share that there have been both fatalities and injuries as a result of an incident on the base... I cannot recall an incident like this in recent memory.”
Seven people were reported to have been killed in the blast before Mr Carney revised the death toll.
Firefighters worked late into the night as changeable winds, with gusts as strong as 62mph, moved the fire towards the nearby town of Wainwright, home to 7,000 people. The flames were stopped from reaching the town before midnight local time.
Hospitals close to the base were overwhelmed, according to witnesses.
The number of injured continued to rise on Sunday morning, with a “code orange” issued to hospitals in Edmonton, Alberta’s capital, denoting a mass casualty incident.
Dr Warren Thirsk, an emergency department physician at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, told CBC News...
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Gas lines don’t explode. Confined spaces with a leaking gas line explode.
Cue the “Trump’s Fault” brigade.
Today’s press conference said the gas lines are okay and that a fire was already underway nearby when the training session began.
Very vague on details but it sounds like the winds shifted and blew back onto the team combat training building (or something like that)
“I’m only going to show you all this once, eh?”
“Gas lines don’t explode. Confined spaces with a leaking gas line explode.”
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I’ll bet that was quite a surprise. Has anyone figured out whether it’s the standard “leaking gas buildup and explosion” or if actual ordnance was involved in the original detonation?
Sabotage.
Explanations are still in the ‘fog of war’ stage, but if national powers that be wish to cover up something they’ve got the wrong location. Not just the most anti-government province, but within the riding of the leader of the opposition.
“Sabotage.”
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Sabotage? Of a training exercise in the desolate Far North?
Multiple WOs on the firing line and other guys are saying the same thing. Weapons Det guy fires the Carl G, scores a turret ring hit, HE round didn’t initiate. It bounces off and goes and strikes a well. The ensuing fire was immediate. They had built new elk fence on Area 21 and the guys were trapped by that and fire rolled up. Sartechs dropped in at midnight under flares, 24 of them. We don’t drop Sartechs for fun. C company 3VP is over 50% casualties, and more than 4 are gone, full numbers aren’t in yet. Some injuries are horrific to include missing limbs. The Carl G was the new variant and has had some issues with ammo before and it seeems there was a lot of gross negligence along the way.
Read my post.
Multiple warrant officers who were right there on the firing line (and other people too) are all saying the same thing.
A guy from the Weapons Detachment fired the Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle and hit the turret ring of a vehicle. The high-explosive round failed to explode on impact. It bounced off and then hit a well. That started a fire right away.
They had recently put up new elk fencing on Area 21, so the soldiers got trapped by the fence while the fire swept through. Search-and-rescue technicians (Sartechs) were parachuted in at midnight under flare illumination—24 of them. We don’t send Sartechs in like that unless it’s serious.
C Company of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry has taken more than 50% casualties. More than four soldiers are dead; the full count isn’t available yet. Some of the injuries are extremely bad, including missing limbs.
The Carl Gustaf that was used was the newer version, which has already had ammunition problems in the past, and it looks like there was a lot of serious negligence involved in how things were handled.
A link to Canadian TV. It looks more like a wildfire swept through the base than an explosion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI3G-nHjdpw
Some translations for us non-military folks.
Sartechs (or SAR Techs / SARTechs) are Search and Rescue Technicians. These are elite military specialists in the Royal Canadian Air Force. They provide advanced medical care and perform rescues in remote or hard-to-reach areas (aeronautical, maritime, Arctic, mountain, etc.).
Trained to primary-care paramedic standard plus advanced skills.
Experts in parachuting, helicopter rescue, diving, mountaineering, and survival in extreme conditions.
Often work in teams of two and deploy from aircraft.
Motto: “That Others May Live.”
Training is among the most demanding in the Canadian Forces (roughly 10–15 candidates succeed out of ~100 applicants per year).
C Company = Charlie Company (one of the rifle companies in an infantry battalion).
3VP = 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (3 PPCLI). The “VP” comes from “Victoria Patricia,” the regiment’s traditional cypher/signet linked to Princess Patricia. It is a common informal abbreviation used by members of the regiment (alongside 1VP, 2VP, etc.).
Weapons Det = Weapons Detachment (the section or group in an infantry unit responsible for heavier support weapons, as opposed to regular riflemen).
Carl G (or “Charlie G”) = the Carl Gustav, an 84 mm recoilless rifle. It’s a man-portable anti-tank / anti-structure weapon widely used by Canadian, Australian, British, and other forces.
The core facts of a high-casualty event involving C Company 3VP during live training, plus SAR Techs parachuting in to help, are accurate.
But the detailed causal chain (Weapons Det Carl G round bouncing into a well, new fence trapping people, more than four dead, proven negligence) is an unconfirmed circulating account that does not match the official narrative or verified reporting. The cause remains under investigation.
You shouldn’t prop targets against the propane tank, just saying.
4memebers of the Canadian military, isn’t that about half of their Military? That is devastating. RIP
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