Five churches in Wainwright, Alta., have come together to plan a vigil for the soldiers who were injured and killed in a fire on base over the weekend.
The service, co-hosted by the community’s different church groups, is set to take place at the Wainwright Church of the Nazarene at 7 p.m. Wednesday evening.
“We want to have a message that we’re together on this,” said Ryan Wood, Nazarene’s lead pastor.
“We’re together in supporting our military, we’re together in grieving, we’re together in seeking a sense of peace and even hope in all of this.”
News of the vigil comes as Defence Minister David McGuinty announced Tuesday morning that 33 of the initial 39 injured members of the Canadian Armed Forces remain in hospital following the fire that claimed four lives at CFB Wainwright.
As of Sunday, 19 of those hospitalized were in critical condition, according to Premier Danielle Smith.
Wood said the military and church communities in Wainwright are “pretty integrated” with many military families belonging to congregations.
“They’re struggling just like everybody else, even though the people that were directly affected and injured were people from other places that were here training, it’s a close family,” said Wood.
“I think there’s just a sense of we want to be able to do something and there’s not always a lot of tangible things that can be done so this is a way for us to come together, show support for those that are struggling, those who are still in hospital, those who have lost loved ones.”
McGuinty, who was speaking to reporters in Ottawa after being in Alberta on Sunday and Monday, said he would not comment on the members’ conditions out of respect for their privacy but said he had the opportunity to meet with military members and health-care workers in Wainwright.
“It’s a delicate and evolving situation right now,” he told reporters on Tuesday morning.
“We will provide all the support that we possibly can to make sure they get the help that they need,” he said.
National Defence Minister David McGuinty speaks Tuesday morning on Parliament Hill in Ottawa about the incident at CFB Wainwright. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
Initially, 39 soldiers were taken to hospital on Saturday. At least 19 of those were in critical condition, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said at a Sunday news conference.
‘Not out of the woods’: Family rallies around soldier badly burned in CFB Wainwright fire
CBC News has asked Acute Care Alberta to provide the latest number of hospitalized patients and how many of them remain in critical condition or have been discharged.
McGuinty thanked health-care workers for supporting the injured military members and declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the fire, saying three separate investigations are underway.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters he spoke with Smith on Tuesday morning about a series of topics, including about providing additional support for fire victims and their families.
33 military members injured in CFB Wainwright fire still in hospital, defence minister says
Dr. Cheyanne Vetter, medical director of the Wainwright Health Centre, spoke with CBC’s Ian Hanomansing on Monday night about the small hospital’s response to the crisis.
She said the military called the hospital on Saturday to inform staff of the incoming mass casualty incident.
“From the time they received that phone call, within about five to 10 minutes, the first victims started to arrive and immediately we realized that the extent of their injuries was quite extreme and quite severe,” she said.
Wainwright Health Centre director describes mass casualty event at hospital | Hanomansing Live
Vetter said staff started putting two patients in each of the small emergency department’s six rooms, then began moving patients to the hospital’s acute care floor. That floor was turned into a functional emergency room for the night, she said.
She said helicopters from STARS air ambulance arrived as soon as it was safe to do so, medics from the military delivered critical clinical supplies and people working in support services like housekeeping and pharmacy helped ensure critical care providers could focus on their jobs.
“Everyone rose to the occasion, above and beyond my expectations,” she said.
What we know so far about fast-moving fire that killed 4, injured dozens at CFB Wainwright
