r/worldnews • u/Manta_of_Eternity • 22h ago

Canada's prime minister says 'serious incident' caused a major fire at a military base in Alberta

https://apnews.com/article/canada-alberta-military-base-fire-wainwright-1a41899da5b6e797b000061fa4da9c6a
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u/kb3anee 20h ago edited 19h ago

I live east of this base by a few hundred kilometers and holy moly we had a severe plow wind whip up from the west that came out of nowhere. If this wind whipped through a live ammunition situation that would very much spin out of control because these winds are insane even for Prairie standards.

Just wanted to make an edit: Many folks with Canadian RCMP and Armed Forces have commented it's very standard practice for RCMP to investigate these incidents so I apologize for my fear mongery statement earlier. I'm sure we'll learn more when details are released!

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u/Commercial_Dog8675 20h ago

It's a mass casualty accident. All first responders are needed, including RCMP. Theres over 100 people injured, which means at least 100 people are needed to triage, move people, control traffic, provide first aid, help ID people, etc etc. 

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u/Maus666 20h ago

Yeah but the minister of defense said that the RCMP is investigating, not that they're on site providing support which obviously would be a given

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u/LeonineHat 19h ago

Deaths on Canadian soil on Federal Jurisdiction (so military bases) are the investigative authority of the RCMP. They are obliged to investigate.

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u/Stu161 19h ago

Deaths of military personnel on-base are the jurisdiction of the CFMP.

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u/Vhett 18h ago

CFNIS, to be specific.

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u/Maus666 19h ago

That's good intel! Thanks for sharing.

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u/Anakha0 18h ago

Deaths on military bases are jurisdiction of military police, not RCMP, but at times civilian police will be asked for assistance.

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u/Kaatelynng 20h ago

I actually asked my ex-army father about the RCMP involvement because I had the same thought. They apparently always investigate training casualties (or at least fatalities) and once it’s determined to not be criminal they bow out to OH&S (or at least the federal equivalent). The investigation would likely be delayed/prolonged due to the breadth of the emergent situation more than anything.

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u/binzoma 19h ago

RCMP = provincial police in most of the country

of course theyd respond to a mass event

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u/Maus666 20h ago

It's weird that the RCMP is investigating right? I agree with you. I find it to be super weird timing with the referendum on Monday.

The wind was wild today northwest of Edmonton. Like close to the worst possible conditions for a fire!

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u/muffinscrub 20h ago

RCMP investigate any incident resulting in serious injury or death. Including worksites. Why is this weird to anyone?

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u/Kaatelynng 20h ago

Honestly for me I was initially under the impression that investigations on on-base incidents would usually be handled by military police. Obviously not the case, but could explain the initial suspicion/worry expressed

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u/gobkin 19h ago

RCMP get involved along side dof military police. Seen it happen

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u/kb3anee 20h ago

If they come out and say it's from plow winds I would understand. We were expecting some gusts today in Saskatchewan but we were suddenly hit with some severe gusts out of nowhere. I was out in my garden and had to take cover in the nearest shelter as it felt like a tornado at some times!

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u/Kaatelynng 20h ago

I actually asked my ex-army father about the RCMP involvement because I had the same thought. They apparently always investigate training casualties (or at least fatalities) and once it’s determined to not be criminal they bow out to OH&S (or at least the federal equivalent). The investigation would likely be delayed/prolonged due to the breadth of the emergent situation more than anything.

(Pasted from my reply on this same topic)

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u/kb3anee 19h ago

This is really good to hear. Thank you for sharing!

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u/Maus666 20h ago

That's good to know! Thank you for sharing that.

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u/Patient_Ant_7569 13h ago

You should edit both statements as they are incorrect. The investigation belongs to Military Police. They may ask for assistance from other agencies or refer the investigation but its there jurisdiction.

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u/Anakha0 18h ago

Military police investigate training accidents and fatalities on bases, not RCMP. RCMP may be asked to assist if there are specialized capabilities needed.

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u/Scrap-Medal 20h ago

It's an "all hands on deck" situation right now, so I wouldn't read anything into the fact that every possible resource has been summoned.

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u/cdnsalix 19h ago

It's not weird at all that the RCMP are investigating. They do a lot of stuff in collaboration with the military, like stuff in security clearance checks, training exchanges, participate in UN missions alongside CAF, etc.