'A shock to all of us': A day after CFB Wainwright disaster, neighbouring town is eerily silent

WAINWRIGHT — It’s Sunday morning in Wainwright. Businesses on Main Street are closed, and vehicles are few and far between. The parking lot at Wainwright High School is empty. Some long-term care residents sit in their wheelchairs outside of the Wainwright Health Centre, taking in the autumn sunlight. There’s a smell of smoke in the air, but that comes from a backyard, where someone is burning a leaf pile.

It’s almost impossible to fathom that just a few hours before, the high-school parking lot was a staging area, as injured soldiers were rushed into town after an explosion and fire at the neighbouring military base. The hospital that’s quiet on Sunday was a hive of panicked activity Saturday evening, as the wounded were treated. According to witnesses, many of them were then sent to hospitals in Edmonton, Calgary and as far off as Saskatchewan.

At the local Legion branch downtown, residents said they’re used to hearing “loud booms” from the base next door. Live fire is something that often rattles the windows and scares the dogs, but it doesn’t faze the residents. In a military town, peace and quiet is not part of the bargain.

They didn’t realize something was wrong till it got quiet Saturday about 4 p.m. Too quiet. Then came the smell of smoke, and ambulance after ambulance began to roll into town.

The silence hung over the town Sunday.

But, for some, the memories of Saturday night won’t easily be erased. An explosion and fire claimed four lives at CFB Wainwright, with dozens more injured.

Brandon Simmons has lived in the Wainwright Health Centre’s continuing care unit for a year and a half.  He watched as patients were rushed into the emergency ward.

He said he went outside and could smell the smoke, but it had a chemical quality to it. And then the vehicles started to roll in, carrying the wounded.

“So, initially there were five people that first came, there was a military pickup truck that came up to my left side, and I suddenly heard the the guys, the door opens, and there was screaming,” he said. “And I looked over to my side, and there was a guy that was trying to run in. His pants were completely blown off.”

He said he saw burn victims and those with severe injuries (out of respect for victims and their families, the extent of those injuries won’t be divulged).

“They had a military medical bus that was over in the school parking lot yesterday,” said Simmons. “I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. I didn’t even know we had such a thing. And then they started to bring everyone out, assess the wounded. No one was prepared for that. The only people they should have to deal with are people that are fighting for our country. As far as we know, this was a training exercise with some extreme conditions.

“When all these patients first started coming in, they were overwhelmed immediately. The beds were overwhelmed, they didn’t have enough supplies… I think that something should be done to be able to have supplies, have personnel. Because if it happens once, it could possibly happen again.”

There has been a push for over a decade to have Wainwright Health Centre upgraded, and one of the key arguments is its proximity to a military base that regularly has more than 1,000 people on site.

“This hospital is so old, you know,” said Simmons. “There’s so many things about it that are falling apart. Not only do we not have the personnel for such an event like this, a major catastrophe, we do not have the supplies, and we also do not have the beds. Up in the top area, they were kicking people out from there who didn’t need to be here.”

Eric Priche also lives in continuing care.

“It was a big event,” he said. “It was, like, too much for the hospital. They definitely need more more supplies, more nursing staff, more everything.”

Hailey Jones is the president of Armor of Light Recovery society, which offers supports to military personnel and their families. Jones and volunteers were on the ground Saturday soon after the organization got word of the catastrophe. An entire town mobilized to help victims.

“Yesterday was a shock to all of us,” said Jones. “Wen we learned about what had occurred, our initial response was just to provide support in whatever ways we possibly could to our military families, community members and anybody who had been affected.”

At first, they brought coffee and baked goods to the hospital, which were distributed to doctors, nurses and families in the waiting area.

“Obviously some of them were getting tragic news or waiting to hear news about their loved ones,” said Jones.

The fire spread outside of the base and into the county, and some farms were evacuated. Armor of Light put out notices on social media that it had cots available in its office for anyone who was displaced, and needed a place to sleep.

Like Simmons, she won’t forget what she saw Saturday night.

“When I was there last night, I can say that there was at least 20 ambulances as well as an EMS bus parked out in front of the high school, and then ambulances throughout the hospital and high school parking lots as well,” said Jones. “It was definitely a mass casualty incident, and you know our thoughts are with everyone who’s been affected.”

Now, the focus is to help families join injured soldiers in the cities where they’ve been sent for care,.

“We began receiving some donations from community members, and we are now co-ordinating for any families of members who have been transported to Edmonton and further areas, just to make sure that they have access to transportation to go see their loved ones or to be able to get down there for medical appointments and that sort of a thing,” said Jones. “So we’re just working with different organizations and different community members to make sure that any gaps in services are covered.

The Wainwright District Community Health Foundation has been bringing food and water to the hospital. A local consignment store has offered clothing to evacuees and families. A day care centre has opened its doors to anyone needing a place to stay. It’s how a community rallies.

And Simmons knows people from around the world now know that Wainwright exists.

“I’ve got people reaching out to me from halfway across the world,” he said. “I can’t even understand the language, but I know they’re sending their condolences and stuff, right? It’s a once in a lifetime event.”

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