A military service this morning will mark the death of Prince Albert’s Private. Shaun Farrell, who died in the incident at CFB Wainwright last month. The service will be streamed live in the player above starting at 11 a.m. Though Farrell’s family – unprepared to be thrust into the public eye amid their grief – have expressed gratitude for the swell of support they’ve received from across the province, they have consistently asked for privacy as they grieve a relative lost in such a senseless tragedy. Farrell was one of four soldiers killed when a fire rapidly spread across the Canadian Armed Forces base in Wainwright, Alberta on Oct. 17. The members were participating in high-intensity combat training while a grassfire burned, for several hours, just a kilometre away. Military officials say the blaze was being monitored, but the fire was fed by strong winds and suddenly, within less than a minute, jumped the gap and spread into the company of more than 80 soldiers. Farrell and three others were killed. Thirty-nine were hospitalized. On the eve of his military funeral Wednesday, family spokesperson Andre Grobler said that coupled with their deep grief over Farrell’s death, there’s a “profound pride in the extraordinary young man Shaun became.” “Serving in the military was never just a career aspiration for Shaun; it was his true calling, his dream, and his ultimate purpose,” says Grobler. This is a developing story. More to come.
