Crane Climber

A man was spotted by police from Toronto's 52 Division, perched high above the city on top of a crane.

The crane was part of a new condo project at Bremner and Simcoe. The man was ordered down by police and after being checked by EMS, he was taken away in handcuffs.

Here's the crane and the man.

Good Morning Toronto

It's time to get up and get at 'em.

Attempt Arson

York Regional Police and Vaughan Fire are investigating an attempted arson on Steeles West.

Brampton Shooting

Peel Regional Police officers fired shots after they reported a driver tried to run over officers.

A man later admitted himself at Credit Valley Hospital suffering from gun shot wounds. Police believe he may be the driver from the earlier incident, although the car has yet to be found.

Hwy 401 Fatality

3:30am Hwy 401 EB east of 6 North. Two tractor trailers and a car in collision. Trucks on fire. One confirmed fatality. Full closure EB at 6 North. Extensive backup.

2 Alarm Fire in Mississauga

Still burning right now. Streetsville.

2nd Alarm Fire Leaves Family Homeless

A family of five is homeless and four of them are in hospital, after a fire this morning in Scarborough.

The fire started just after 1am on Merilake Dr. and the house was fully involved by the time TFD got on scene.

Four family members including a child were taken to hospital suffering from burns and smoke inhalation.

Grow Op Fire

Brampton Fire Department were kept busy fighting a fire in a large house on Ecclestone Dr. At one point all crews were pulled from the building as fire broke through the roof.

Neighbors say that nobody lived in the house. People came to cut the grass only.

The OFM will investigate the cause. The house may have been a marijuana grow house.

Wrong Way Driver Killed On QEW

An elderly male driver, who was not from the area, died in a head on collision on the Toronto bound QEW tonight. Moments after OPP received a 911 call for a car traveling in the wrong direction, they got a flood of calls reporting a crash.

The driver was pronounced in hospital. Three others from the other vehicle are also in serious condition.

Whats Up Doc?

This guy managed to hit 2 trees and wreck 5 cars, before his car came to rest like this. Speed may be a factor. LoL.

Wilson Heights 3 Alarm Fire

Crazy 5am blaze that was burning out of control when I arrived. It was a three storey building that had been under construction, on and off for years, prior to the fire.

Area residents say it was being turned into a small multi unit apartment building or condo.

You could see the fire from Hwy 427 to the west and the DVP to the east, as it kit up the early morning sky.

I live covering exciting fires like this. Luckily I was only a couple of highway exits away when it started.

Tragic Friday

I started off my shift when I found myself very close to a double shooting in Etobicoke. I was first on scene and got both victims. One later died in hospital.

I squeezed an ETF call in and then finished my shift at King and Spadina. A young man lay dead, crushed under the wheels of a garbage truck. His skateboard, snapped in half, lay next to his lifeless body.

Speed Kills

I was first on scene of this horrific crash last night at Kennedy and Finch. Police say the driver was racing another vehicle and crashed. The car was split in half and the driver was trapped when I arrived.

He was cut out by Toronto Fire but did not survive.

The Future of Breaking News Coverage on TV

In the last few years local television news has seen some major changes. Technology now allows crews to go live quicker and in places they never went before. New cellular based devices that allow video to be sent back over mobile phone networks really have been a game changer. We can now go live on trains, roofs, cars and boats. When news breaks we can bring live video to the viewer’s home or smart phone faster than we ever could before. Coupling this new technology with old school news tools like police scanners means almost instant coverage. For years news crews have monitored Police, Fire and EMS communication systems to find out where the news is happening. Now they can rush crews to a scene and be live on TV before the patients are loaded in the ambulances.

I have been covering breaking news events since the late 1980’s. I got into the TV game with little more than a camcorder, still camera and a single police scanner. I love this business. In my younger years I needed something to keep me on the straight and narrow. Chasing TV news excited me, then in my 20’s as much as now in my 40’s. I love the chase. I love the adrenalin that comes with rushing to the scene of breaking news. When a call crackles across the scanner about a shooting, accident or fire, it winds me up. It reminds me how short life really is. It keeps me out of myself and distances me from the selfishness that consumes many people today. I am constantly reminded that other people are going through things that are very difficult, tragic in nature and that my world is so small.

These last few years we have seen a huge increase in the use of smart phones. The cameras inside those phones are getting better and better. They will never replace the skills of a trained videographer, even in a You Tube world were people are much less concerned with the quality of video. They will however fill a void that is expected to become larger over the next few years. Things are changing in the world of local TV news.

As many emergency departments switch to the next generation of radio communication systems, the ability for media to monitor those systems will be reduced or eliminated. New systems will be digitally encrypted and scanner users will no longer be able to listen in. Many people are saying, “Don’t worry some new type of scanner will become available. Just like they always have over the years as various systems were rolled out.” That probably isn’t going to happen this time around. Unless police, fire and ambulance are willing to allow access to media, these systems will not be monitored and chasing breaking news with information from scanners will become a thing of the past.

Perhaps it’s the Yin and Yang, the natural progression of events. Many may think that news was becoming a little too instant. Don’t get me wrong, the live coverage of charity events and weekend festivals will continue, but the near instant broadcast of tragic events may end. It will be a game changer. It will change the type of stories you see on the news. No station will commit precious resources to cover a shooting that happened 12 hours ago. The scene is gone, the witnesses have wandered away and it’s not nearly as exciting as it was when it happened.

Many young people don’t even tune into local news the way their parents do. When they want to be entertained by moving pictures they turn to the latest viral puppy video or music video on YouTube. The ratings have been on the decline for a long time. They call it fragmentation. Most outlets are now pushing news coverage out to many different platforms in order to reach as many people as possible.

I’m not sure where all this is going. I’m not an expert and have never been able to see the future. If I could do that I would have bought stock in AOL back when I first connected to the Internet. They had a few hundred thousand subscribers. We used modems to connect at 2400 Baud and watching video online was a fantasy. Today billions of people are connected and that still only represents about 20% of the world population.

I got an email this morning from a freelance cameraman in the Hamilton area. He seemed worried by the fact that the City of Hamilton is about to switch on a new digitally encrypted radio system. He pointed out that the Fleetnet radio systems used by Regional EMS and OPP are all up for discussion, as contracts come up for renewal in 2012. He may have good reason to worry. The game rules are definitely changing. The rush to encryption may come even sooner after many media outlets broadcasted radio transmissions by a fallen officer recently in York Region. Just to be clear, media had the ability to do that for years, although to many a line in the sand has been crossed. It takes us back to that rush to get all and any news on the air. If it were up to me that tragic audio would never have been broadcast. I listened to it unfold as it happened. We should have had more respect for those involved.

I would love to hear from some of you first responders out there. How do you see the future of television news? Do you worry about out of sight out of mind? Will less coverage of breaking news events be a good or bad thing? Will the public be willing to blindly sign off on ever increasing operating budgets without ever seeing why they are needed? Is it important for people to see what really happens on the mean streets?

Please post your comments and thoughts.

( Note: I am currently a videographer for CBC Television. I cover breaking news on the overnight shift by choice. I love what I do. I have worked for or sold video to just about every media outlet in the GTA. http://latenightcam.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html)

Police Officer Killed in York Region

Chief Eric Jolliffe emerges with senior officers from a Newmarket Hospital to speak to media. He confirmed the death of Const. Garrett Styles during a traffic stop on Hwy 48. I was in my car monitoring York Regional Police when the officer first called out for help. It was so hard to listen to. It was really very sad. We cover these stories and try to stuff all the emotions back inside. Today I think I ran out of space. I tried to tell my wife about what I had heard but just couldn't do it without my emotions getting the better of me.



Everyone rushed to help him and a brave dispatcher tried to comfort him and reassure him that help was minutes away. The clock seemed to slow and minutes felt like hours.

It took me back to a call I was on years ago on Lakeshore Blvd in Etobicoke. In that call I listened from a few hundred feet away as officers, who were pinned down by gun fire, almost begged a dispatcher for help. You just wish you could reach out somehow and help.

Condolences to the Styles family and to all members of the York Regional Police force.

Fire in the Sky

Crazy weather last night on my shift. I shot some nice lightning from the garage of a local hospital and then headed down Hamilton way for some trees down in the wind.

I really like Hamilton. I might move there.

Toronto Fog

Wednesday April 27th, 2011 - Toronto Fog

Tragic Week in Traffic

427 North closed after serious car vs. truck accident

It's been a bad week on the roads around the GTA. The last three nights have seen major issues on area highways and last night I went to a fatal accident in Port Credit. A small Fierro sports car was cut in half after hitting a tree in Port Credit.

A man in his 50's was killed and a teenager is in critical condition after being air lifted to Sunnybrook Trauma Center. Sadly, family members were on scene. As members of the media we can sometimes seem insensitive to others. I never forget the families and my thought go out to them.

Port Credit Fatal Accident

Truck Fire Closes 401 East for 12 Hours

427 North Bound Closure

Last night it was a tractor trailer crash that closed the 401 east bound. Tonight it was two tractor trailers vs car on the 427 north bound that closed the highway. The female driver was seriously injured and rushed to hospital. One truck came to rest in the ditch.

Sleepy Sunday

I thought it was going to be a no hit night but at 3am a call came in for a fire in Markham. This is in the new master planned section of Markham where they mix residential and commercial. The fire was in an apartment above a store. The male resident was burned badly and taken to Sunnybrook for treatment.