39 hospitalized, 19 critical after CFB Wainwright fire, out-of-province burn units on standby
Toronto and Hamilton burn hospitals say they are prepared to accept patients or send supplies if Calgary and Edmonton burn centres need backup following Saturday's fire at the Alberta military base.
Why it matters
The scale of injuries from the Wainwright fire may require Alberta's burn centres to draw on specialized support from hospitals outside the province.
Burn specialists in Toronto and Hamilton say their hospitals are ready to support Alberta colleagues treating dozens of patients injured in Saturday's fire at CFB Wainwright. Of 39 hospitalized patients, 19 are in critical condition, though specialists say they do not know the specific status of each case.
Dr. Alan Rogers, a burn surgeon at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre's Ross Tilley Burn Centre in Toronto, said his hospital could take patients if Calgary and Edmonton burn centres need backup, and could also send frozen temporary skin from Sunnybrook's tissue bank. He said age, chronic illness and smoke inhalation affect recovery chances, and younger healthy adults can survive burns covering up to 80 per cent of their body.
Rogers described burn recovery as a long process involving multiple surgeries over weeks or months, starting with removal of burned tissue and covering wounds with donated cadaver skin or artificial substitutes before later skin grafting. Patients lose their protective skin barrier and become immunocompromised, often requiring weeks in isolation, while extensive burns can trigger organ-straining inflammatory responses.
Dr. Marc Jeschke, director of the burn program at Hamilton Health Sciences Centre, said his team wants to assist however possible, stressing that severe burn injuries affect patients and families long after the initial event, unlike an injury such as a fracture.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.