Families of soldiers injured at CFB Wainwright were amongst the hundreds of people gathered for a Remembrance Day ceremony in St. Albert to honour Canadian troops who have served and died for Canada.
The Ramage family was one of many that attended the ceremony in the bedroom community northwest of Edmonton.
Pte. Liam Ramage from Red Deer County suffered severe burns to 40 per cent of his body in the fire and remains in the University of Alberta Hospital.
He was amongst the roughly 84 soldiers with the Charlie Company unit of the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry based at CFB Edmonton who were taking part in attack training at CFB Wainwright in central Alberta on Oct. 17 when a windstorm sent flames from a grass fire onto the troops.
Four soldiers were killed and 39 more were injured. Many are still recovering in hospitals across Alberta, including in the province’s two highly specialized burn units.
Roughly 300 members of their regiment marched into the Remembrance Day service Wednesday morning in St. Albert, which is right next door to the Edmonton military base.
With a family history steeped in military service, Cheryl Ramage has always attended Remembrance Day ceremonies, but Wednesday’s gathering hit much closer to home this year.
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Her son, Liam, suffered terrible injuries in the fire at CFB Wainwright. Covered in burns, he remains in the intensive care unit in critical, but stable condition.
Despite being seriously wounded himself, Liam was still trying to save his fellow soldiers when first responders arrived at the scene in Wainwright three weeks ago.
Liam was then rushed to Edmonton, where he was so badly injured his wife and mother had to identify him by his feet.
He suffered extensive burns to his face, head and neck. His family said both sides of his hands were in bad condition, and he was burnt on his arms, legs and some on his back as well.
The extent of his injuries forced doctors to make difficult decisions.
“He’s got lots of skin grafts, another surgery and unfortunately had partial and full amputations of all of his fingers,” Cheryl said.
After suffering a trio of strokes, the infantryman was paralyzed on one side and his family says he’s slowly regaining some movement.
The 27-year-old has been taken off a ventilator that had been sustaining him for nearly a month. Liam is now able to breathe on his own and has been speaking to his loved ones.
“He’s nonstop talking,” said his wife of three years, Marisa Ramage.
“I had a great conversation with him yesterday, it was great. It’s nice to be able to talk to him and have him answer me.”
Despite those developments, Marisa said her husband’s progress often feels like one step forward — five steps back.
His mother said as Liam regains consciousness, her son is in a lot of pain — crying out, despite painkillers and the best efforts of hospital staff.
His cries are horrible to hear, Cheryl said.
Pte. Ramage was supposed to have finished his weapons training at CFB Wainwright on Nov. 5 and Marisa said they’d planned to attend the St. Albert Remembrance Day ceremony together.
Instead, his loved ones gathered in St. Albert in his honour as he lies in a hospital bed, working on his recovery.
Ramage enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces in 2024 after participating in cadets as a youth, where he advanced to the top as a regimental sergeant major.
Since joining the military two years ago, Ramage has served in Latvia and at the G7 gathering in Kananaskis, Alta.
The family is collecting donations in a GoFundMe campaign to help his loved ones remain by his side and fund his future rehabilitation.
With files from The Canadian Press
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