'Didn't think he'd make it': Kelowna soldier burned at Wainwright emerges from coma in Calgary hospital

Cpl. Matt Nystrom was still burning when his comrades pulled him from the scorched landscape of CFB Wainwright’s training ground, said his father-in-law.

The non-commissioned officer of Charlie Co., 3 Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry was conducting drills and was among 39 soldiers injured when a grass fire driven by high winds engulfed them Oct. 17.

“His team members went back (into the fire area) and started collecting people and one of his buddies recognized Matt right away,” Ron Schur, Nystrom’s father-in-law, said from his home in Kelowna, B.C.

“His clothing was on fire still.”

Because “he’s a big guy,” it required four other soldiers to carry the 30-year-old Edmonton-based infantryman to safety and ultimately to a field medical unit, said Schur, who has relied on other soldiers’ accounts.

Schur praised the dedication of the soldiers who rescued his family member.

“Kudos to higher-ranking members for training for such events,” he said.

“(The philosophy of) ‘leave no person behind’ was carried out with precision.”

When he was pulled from the fire, Nystrom was conscious but in shock and was quickly placed in a medically-induced coma, suffering third-degree burns to his face, arms and legs.

As were five other injured soldiers, he was flown to the Foothills Medical Centre by STARS air ambulance, whose flight time was considerably greater due to strong headwinds the day of the blaze, said Schur.

The Canadian Armed Forces have confirmed it was a training exercise on an automatic grenade launcher range that ignited the fatal brush fire.

From there, the blaze initially remained in a Permanent Dangerous Area, which restricted firefighters’ ability to suppress it.

Then a sudden change in wind velocity and direction enlarged the fire and pushed it toward an area where soldiers were training before it overtook their position. The military has said no oil or gas infrastructure played a role in the blaze.

In all, 39 soldiers were injured and four killed. The military has said 27 remain in hospital with 13 still in intensive care. Nystrom is one of the latter.

Those killed in the incident were Pte. Aidan Goulding, Pte. Shaun Farrell, Pte. Hayden Lykkemark with the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Infantry and Sgt. Morgan Wong with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment.

Nystrom has been intubated but has emerged from an induced coma, said Schur.

“(On Sunday) he was watching us, eye-tracking and wiggling his toe . . . but it’s going to be a long haul,” he said.

His wife Kaitlyn has been by his side at Foothills, while Schur said he made the trek to Calgary last week, paid for by the federal government.

“At first, Kaitlyn didn’t think he’d make it,” he said.

There, the father-in-law said he met with members of Nystrom’s unit, who had come from Edmonton to be by their stricken comrade’s side.

“I was only there for 36 hours and I felt I’d know them all my life . . . It’s just an amazing (military) family they have,” said Schur.

He also praised the care provided by Foothills Medical Centre staff, saying he was “gobsmacked” by their professionalism and dedication.

Nystrom was once a promising hockey goalie in Kelowna but an injury ended any dream to pursue that further, said Schur.

He joined the military three years ago and quickly displayed leadership qualities, added his father-in-law.

“He’s a real stand-up guy, a leader and some people just don’t have that skill,” he said.

But his recovery from severe burns will take considerable time and a number of operations, said Schur, who added that a prominent physician from Pennsylvania who practises advanced plastic surgery is on hand to help the Wainwright burn patients.

Ontario has also sent 28 health-care professionals to help care for the injured troops.

In the meantime, the family has launched a GoFundMe page to help with expenses as Nystrom’s wife will have to be absent from work to be with her husband.

“This has devastated my entire family and we need all the support we can to help Matt with his recovery,” his uncle Dave Nystrom wrote on the GoFundMe page, which had raised $12,500 of its $15,000 goal as of Sunday morning.

The military police are investigating whether or not a possible criminal offence took place, while the chief medical examiner’s office is investigating the cause and nature of the fatalities. At the same time, a board of inquiry investigation is being done by the army.

Schur said soldiers know their work inherently carries risk, whether it’s during training or on a real battlefield, and refused to criticize military decision-making at Wainwright.

But at the same time, he said he expects the armed forces to learn lessons from the tragedy.

“It’s not supposed to happen but it does — I’m not into blame,” he said.

“There’ll be more (safety) protocols set in place.”

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