Massive Fire and Explosion in Toronto, evacuation

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Jammin_Jay

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A massive fire and explosion in Northwest Toronto. 6 alarm, fire, police. Large Scale Evacuation this sunday morning. A command Center has been set up at the downsview airport. Spetacular Fire.

Wow!! Highway 401 Completely Closed between Hwy 404 and Hwy 400.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/475696
 
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mciupa

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Listen to North TAC 3 ( talkgroup 20752 )
 

mikewazowski

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The biggest joke was City TV calling it "Breaking News" 6 hours after it started.

Unfortunately, at the time it was happening and people could have used information, none of the Toronto stations had anything.

The best audio from the scene was an OPP officer who somehow happened to be in the neighbourhood when it all went down. She was there before TPS, EFS and DAS were even aware of it. You could hear the explosions going off in the background as she spoke.
 

jellotor

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I'll bet CityTV doesn't have any staffers on at 4am Sunday morning so it's stringer video or nothing and it doesn't sound like anyone was there until 20+ minutes had passed.

Obviously everyone here is a bit more media savvy but it seems like most people understand early morning weekend coverage is a crapshoot these days.

And that, my friends, is why all the news stations solicit your still pictures all the time.
 

mikewazowski

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I think the City Pulse News Ticker had a brief mention of an explosion with a few injuries about an hour after the event but nothing else.

I figured about an hour after the event they would have been able to muster up a live person to at least man the station.

CTV Snoozenet seemed to have a live person but he made no mention of the explosion which leads me to believe it was a tape running.

I understand that the smaller stations don't have the budget to keep somebody around all the time but I figured a 24 hour news channel in Canada's largest city would at least have somebody who could break in and at least get some information out.
 

EJB

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My father in law was complaining that CFRB dropped the ball.
He was up at the time of the explosion and turned on his fave station...but they were running canned programming or American stuff.

He lives about 5 miles away and was impressed by the magnitude of the explosion.
 

jellotor

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If it's anything like our place, Steve, the decision to call someone in early or on a day off would require a manager's decision, or at least a supervisor. By the time the assignment desk gets ahold of someone it could be 9 am.

Bottom line, it's situations like this that expose the fact that news staffing/budgets ain't what they once were.

Back on topic, I saw the post on the hotshot list about a TFD firefighter VSA...is it related to the explosion?
 

slicerwizard

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If it's anything like our place, Steve, the decision to call someone in early or on a day off would require a manager's decision, or at least a supervisor. By the time the assignment desk gets ahold of someone it could be 9 am.
Typical management - it's not a problem until it's a problem. And by then, it's too late.

When the fireball is so high that the dispatchers at 703 Don Mills can see it, I wouldn't bother with the managers - I'd start calling the "talent".

The coverage this morning was an absolute joke. Nothing on CP24 or CTV News (yeah, I know, same bunch) for four hours. Those blasts woke up everyone for miles around and they got zilch from their 24 hour news networks.
 

stevedbartlett

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Lost a little faith in City Pulse today.
The blast shook me out of bed, ran for the scanner and started monitoring. Fire clearly said several times the perimeter is 1.6 km, roughly a mile in the early stages and city keep repeating 1.6 miles not a big deal but when fire increased the distance city keep reporting 1.6 but corrected to km at that time. 4.5 hours after the fact confusing a lot of people. They came on the air shortly after 8 A.M stating proudly they were Toronto’s first station to cover it, meanwhile CNN had their ticker running with better information than the local station had hours before.

C’mon city, buy a half decent radio and report what is said not what you think it to mean.

Our thoughts are with the firefighter reported VSA…
 
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slicerwizard

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The blast shook me out of bed, ran for the scanner and started monitoring.
I think we've all dealt with the "what do you have/need a scanner for??" crowd; next time, ask them what CP24 did for them at 4am while the bombs were going off around them. What if there had been serious toxins in the air? How would they have found out?
 

sm3000

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CFRB has just announced in a news conference that the fireman that was found earlier this afternoon with vital signs absent, has now passed on.
 

newtoscanning

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Smart media...

I love how everyone is questions the whole 1.6 km radius evacuation, on CTV newsnet, the reports didn't 'get it' when the fire division commander kept explaining how they were evacuating the area for safety and trying to cool the containers.

Anyone have an Emergency Response Guidebook? Propane - Guide 115:
#################################
If tank, rail car or tank truck is involved in a fire, ISOLATE for 1600 meters (1 mile) in all
directions; also, consider initial evacuation for 1600 meters (1 mile) in all directions.

DO NOT EXTINGUISH A LEAKING GAS FIRE UNLESS LEAK CAN BE STOPPED.

Fire involving Tanks
• Fight fire from maximum distance or use unmanned hose holders or monitor nozzles.
• Cool containers with flooding quantities of water until well after fire is out.
• Do not direct water at source of leak or safety devices; icing may occur.
• For massive fire, use unmanned hose holders or monitor nozzles; if this is impossible,
withdraw from area and let fire burn.
#################################

I love the fire chief trying to explain the last point, and a reporter says 'a controlled burn'. LOL

If the media just opened up a book, they could be told a bunch of reasons of why the fire department is doing what they are doing, they are following a pre-scripted plan to the dot.
 

VA3DBJ

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This takes me back to the propane explosion here in Bowmanville a couple of years back. Just wasn't as big. I was sitting at the 5th Wheel waiting for my wife to get off work. A bunch of media type where in there pissed, cause the CFD and the DRPS wouldn't let them in to shoot the scene and answer their questions. And I was thinking that maybe they had other things to worry about, then answering your questions.
 

vabiro

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I think we've all dealt with the "what do you have/need a scanner for??" crowd; next time, ask them what CP24 did for them at 4am while the bombs were going off around them. What if there had been serious toxins in the air? How would they have found out?

I was shaken out of bed at Lawrence and Mt Pleasant at the first explosion. I thought I was dreaming, until the second blast and my wife confirmed that I wasn't dreaming ;)

I ran out to the driveway to get my scanner from the car and could see the orange glow of explosions to the west-north-west.

As soon as I turned on the scanner the units were being dispatched by Police and Fire.

Oddly, everyone communicating with the dispatchers seemed to have the world-weary, "yah right sure it's an explosion" sound to their voice at first. A minute later their voice would be about two octaves higher and talking in urgent tones of how they required additional units or alarms.

I turned on CP24 expecting to see some info, but only found a call-in show offering legal advice. It was almost an hour-and-a-half before any useful info was broadcast. Thank goodness for my trusty scanner. My wife will never complain about it floating around in the back seat again ;)

Thank goodness this was propane exploding, and not something more dangerous or noxious. Living down-wind we would have been dead by the time CP24 or any media outlet offered any clarification.

Cheers
Victor
 

Muxlow

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I live in Wallaceburg, Sarnia with all their chemical plants.. if they ever went boom.. Im sure we would feel it and have a nice smell of toxic in the air.. Hurray for having a gas mask:)
 
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