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After a fire left four Canadian Armed Forces members dead and many more injured on Saturday, the mayor of Wainwright, Alta. says the community is grateful for the outpouring of support.
Saturday was routine for Mayor Bruce Pugh, at first. He said military training exercises are something the people of Wainwright are used to.
“It’s not uncommon,” Pugh shared. “We’ll hear the cannons and our windows rattle.”
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Pugh said at around 4 p.m., he learned that the Wainwright Volunteer Fire Department was “racing to an event on the base to offer mutual assistance.”
“From there, the news just kind of seemed to grow worse and worse and worse,” Pugh shared.
He said the town is feeling heavy sadness “on a very human level for the members of the armed forces who have lost their lives.”
“These kinds of things are not supposed to happen,” Pugh added.
The mayor also expressed his concern for the first responders who witnessed the scene at the base and those who have been treating the injured at the hospital.
The Wainwright Health Centre on Oct. 18, 2026, where injured victims of the disaster at CFB Wainwright were taken for care after the incident on Saturday. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)
“Just the level of emergency and the tragedy that they responded to,” he shared, “but again, they met it with the utmost of professionalism and service, which doesn’t surprise me.”
Despite its small size, Pugh said the town’s hospital is staffed by “simply amazing people who would offer world-class care, no matter what.”
“We are exceptionally proud of them, and not pride in a boastful way or a negative way,” Pugh said. “It’s a recognition of what they do, day in and day out.”
In Wainwright, Alta. this evening after the tragic events at CFB Wainwright on Sat. Just stopped by the Wainwright hospital where victims are receiving treatment. @CKOMNews @CJMENews https://t.co/roWA3DQ2iz
— Libby Gray (@libby_gray9) October 19, 2026
Pugh said Wainwright is a small community, meaning many emergency and health-care workers are regularly serving people they know well. He called the response “personal.”
“When they’re rushing to a call,” he said, “somebody on that crew is saying, ‘I know that address. I know the person that lives there.’”
Pugh said he knows that not all risk can be removed from military training, but said the Canadian Armed Forces is a professional and well-trained fighting force with “strict protocols and expectations.”
The sign leading into CFB Wainwright on Oct. 18, 2026, a day after the major disaster that left four dead and many more injured. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)
Though Pugh said he has refrained from asking too many questions about the fire, he said first responders have told him “it was very bad.”
As Albertans head to the polls on Monday to vote on whether to hold an official referendum on the province separating from Canada, Pugh noted how remarkably unified and kind the support for his town was over the weekend.
“I think there are some things that rise above politics,” Pugh stated.
He called the response “powerful.”
“It shows us that humanity and that our hearts can beat in unison sometimes,” he said.
Saskatchewan premier shares condolences
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said the disaster was “a heartbreaking loss” for the military, the community and the families of those affected.
He said the province was saddened by the loss of a soldier from Prince Albert.
“Today, Saskatchewan mourns the loss of Private Shaun Farrell of Prince Albert. Shaun was a young man full of promise who chose to serve his country. His loss will be felt deeply by his family, friends, fellow service members, and all who knew him,” Moe said in a statement.
“As we remember Shaun and the other service members who lost their lives, we also keep those injured and their loved ones in our thoughts.”
Moe said flags at provincial buildings will be lowered to half-mast to honour Farrell and the other service members killed in the fire.
“To Shaun’s family, to the families of the other fallen service members, and to everyone carrying the weight of this loss today, please know that Saskatchewan stands with you, and that you are in our prayers in the difficult days ahead,” Moe added.
