Wainwright’s mayor reacts to deadly CFB fire

Mayor Bruce Pugh is available this morning and he joins us now live. Mayor, thanks so much for picking up the phone call. I know you've had a very, very busy night. Not sure you slept. What can you tell us about what you're hearing, what happened at CFB Wainwright? So the details, of course, as you know, the Canadian Armed Forces are an exceptionally professional organization and very well run. And they have very specific protocols and procedures in terms of the releasing of information so the the details that we have been receiving at CFB Wainwright there are most definitely pieces missing we of course understand that there's been an incident on the base there have been some casualties and so our role in the knowledge that we've been able to gain is is primarily around that first response we are very closely interconnected in terms of joint support agreements with our first responders. Our local health care facility was the reception area for those casualties. It was like a triage area. So we're waiting to hear more. And I know the minister spoke last night from Ottawa. And we'll release more information as they go through those procedures. What did you see or what did people see? because it does sound like there was a large fire, perhaps an explosion of some kind. Do you just have any sense of what you can tell me people saw or what you saw last night? Well, so the base is a training base, and they run courses through to help, you know, prepare our soldiers to do their work. So there was a large amount of cannon fire. That's not unusual, a large amount of, you know, weapons firing and things like that. um i i heard it you know the the whomp of of the cannons and things and then it seemed to just stop i didn't really notice again it wouldn't have been out of the ordinary uh i received a message from one of our council that something must have happened on base uh as the fire department was was racing uh to provide that assistance and then you know i was i was briefed by my by our town staff but later on in the evening things we saw heard lots of fixed-wing aircraft coming to and leaving Wainwright as they transported patients who had been assessed triaged prepped and helicopters there was a military airplane my understanding is that they were dropping in specialized personnel to to come and help assist yeah i guess we heard some reports that there were paratroopers coming out of the plane. I guess that's what you're referring to there, that people were being dropped in to help on the ground? Yeah, yeah. What was the weather like? Because obviously that was also a factor. Whatever occurred here was exacerbated by the wind. Absolutely. So it has been a dry month. October has been dry and the weather did play a part. And And again, that's where it affected the fire escaped from the confines of CFB Wainwright on the training area. And it did get out into our neighboring municipal district of Wainwright. And that's, again, where Wainwright's too small to go it alone. I said that over and over and again. So we are so incredibly interconnected through joint service agreements and things like that. We support with the base, with the MD of Wainwright, with our local villages of Vermilion and Edgerton. It was an all hands on deck response. And we even had neighbouring communities coming to take care of Wainwright while our first responders were fighting that fire south of town. What do you know about your first responders? Are they all OK? Or what have you been told about them? They are incredibly professional, again, in their response. response and i know that they because a lot of our volunteers and i want to stress volunteers also serve on the base fire department they're incredibly well trained they know the training area and things like that i i did i reached out to our fire chief last night um you know they were witness to things that you you would pray that you never see or that if you do it would be a once in a lifetime experience of service that being said they are willing to to keep us safe to keep our community safe and and the residents of the municipal district safe how did the fire chief um characterize what what what they saw yesterday i didn't have an opportunity to to speak to him personally i just heard it's bad you know it's it's bad and when you hear that um it's it's sobering so when the initial rush of of responding to that event is over you know the the people are safe those injured are being cared for and receiving top-notch care in our local little Wainwright hospital um once you sit down and and as i'm feeling which is nothing compared to what they are the gravity of the situation um you know our hearts just go to them yeah and no it's it's a it's very upsetting and um we appreciate telling us a little bit about it um i i wonder what the community is is doing to try and help right now is it is it too soon for that or are you all kind of mobilizing to see what you can do You know what, the Wainwright that I know and love and this surrounding area, that support and level of care, which we're now seeing nationally, provincially, internationally, is sobering. But the community of Wainwright immediately, whether it's people who work, serve in the CAF, or they're a major employee in our area, their response was immediate. um the the hospital like uh people you know we we need to let people who know what they're doing do do their job and and and trust that they know and and they give us ample reason to trust um but but the weight on on our on our community is is immense um i keep saying though how humanity rises um and and the the outpouring of support within our own little local area here in east central alberta um is incredible um but but coming from across canada again internationally it's it is the only way i think that that we will be able to and again i'm i'm affected from a distance but we feel it we we we hear the the comments we we we feel the prayers we be and and appreciate it and and that's what's what's gonna help us help those who are so so directly impacted and affected i i i won't keep you too much longer but obviously you know as you said this is a training uh there's a training base there uh at CFB Wainwright and so there's a lot of people in and out right it's not always the same people nothing like this has ever happened before mayor uh any kind of accident this is shocking i guess for everyone absolutely it's uh again a once in a lifetime that we hope never happens again my my hearts go out to my heart goes out to the the members of CAF it's they they defend us every day they're spread across our beautiful country um but they they are like a family they they may have served together on other bases and they they find that they're reunited serving in Wainwright our first responders the members of our local health care facility and health care professionals um like again that humanity rises the the initial response i i said last night and i'll say it again if i was to be involved in a traumatic incident i would want to be triaged at the Wainwright Health Center because they live and work and serve amongst us they know us, they know our families and our kids, and that care is personal. Not that it isn't anywhere else, but the rallying is humbling. Not sure, Mayor, if you've spoken to the Premier or the Prime Minister yet? I haven't had an opportunity. I really appreciate I have been reached out to by different municipal leaders from across our province, and the Minister of Municipal Affairs reached out. Mr. Poievre, our MP, reached out to me last night and we appreciate all of those contacts. Is there anything you need right now? I think just you know, again, the thoughts and prayers sometimes is thrown into the wind, but it really does mean something. Our community is processing the grief is processing. We'll soon enter into that period of grief. But the support and the love from people we don't even know is going to be something that will be never forgotten in our little community. Mayor Pugh, I know you've taken a lot of calls and emails over the past number of hours. Thank you for making time for the interview. We really appreciate it. And we're all thinking of you and wishing the community and the base the best. Thanks so much. Thank you very much.