What we know so far about deadly fire at Canadian military base

Four service members are confirmed to have died, while a further 39 people were initially in hospital – 19 of whom were in critical condition.

As of 20 October, 27 soldiers remain in hospital, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said.

Officials identified the deceased as Sgt Morgan Wong, Pte Shaun Farrell, Private Aidan Goulding and Pte Hayden Lykkemark.

Carney paid tribute to them in the House of Commons on Monday.

“These were sons, brothers, partners, friends – young men with bright futures who chose to serve our country and who died in that cause,” he said.

He added that the troops were preparing to be sent to Latvia, and were training to join the Canadian Armed Forces’ Global Response Task Force, “which can deploy within hours anywhere in the world Canada needs them”.

Paying tribute to the fallen troops, Carney said Goulding “met every hardship with a joke,” and Lykkemark “was known for his gift for lightening a hard day”.

Farrell had planned to spend his entire career in the military, while Wong had previously served in Latvia and was preparing for his second tour in Europe, Carney said.

Officials have not indicated whether or not the government expects the death toll to rise but said many people had suffered severe burns.

On Saturday evening, Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton declared a code orange – a disaster response protocol for a high-casualty incident. It was stood down on Sunday afternoon.

Alberta’s health service said the emergency response lasted for 10 hours and involved 22 ambulances and eight aircraft.

Ongoing care for the injured is expected to be “intensive”, a statement continued.

A stream of ambulances was seen arriving at the hospital and one doctor told Canadian public broadcaster CBC that the facility had been “completely overwhelmed” by the number of patients.

Brandon Simmons, a hospital resident receiving long-term care at the nearby Wainwright Health Centre, witnessed the aftermath of the fire.

He said he remembered seeing people with burns, while one person had their clothes “blown off” and was wearing only underwear.

In response to the incident, Minister of National Defence David McGuinty said: “Albertans are lining up to give blood.”