Major fire at Canadian military base in Alberta, Carney calls it ‘serious incident’

A major fire broke out at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta on Saturday, with Prime Minister Mark Carney describing it as a “serious incident”. The cause of the fire and possible casualties have not been confirmed.“A serious incident creating a major fire has occurred at CFB Wainwright, in Alberta,” Carney said in a social media post. “Our thoughts are with all the brave women and men affected,” he added.Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called the fire “significant and tragic”, saying it was affecting many military personnel.Defence minister David McGuinty confirmed that several people had died in the fire, with injuries also reported. He described the situation as “very, very active and delicate”, as emergency services continued responding to the incident.Carney said the federal government was coordinating with provincial and local authorities.CFB Wainwright is a major Canadian Army training installation in Alberta, east of Edmonton. It hosts the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre, which prepares military units for operational deployments through large-scale training exercises.Authorities have not disclosed the cause of the fire, the extent of the damage or whether anyone was injured.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.