One Walk, Three Sirens: Bob’s Emergency Services Hat Trick 🚒🚓🚑

It started like any other photo walk—coffee in hand, Sony slung over my shoulder, no plan except to wander the spring streets and see what turned up. I hit the jackpot at Dundas and Bathurst, where the city decided to throw a full-on emergency parade just for me.

First came the fire truck, rumbling eastbound down Dundas like it had somewhere important to be (and probably did). "TORONTO FIRE" was bold across the ladder—Unit L315 in all its red-and-yellow glory. I grabbed the shot just as it passed a Doordash cyclist who barely flinched. One down.

Seconds later—no exaggeration—a police cruiser rolled through the same intersection, lights off but presence unmistakable. Unit 1453 was cruising like it had something on its mind, weaving through traffic near the Charles R. Sanderson library. Snap. That’s two.

Now I was joking to myself: “All I need is an ambulance and I’ve got the emergency services hat trick.”

Fast forward ten minutes—I looped around to the hospital nearby, and there it was: not just one, but two ambulances parked outside, with a paramedic mid-step, heading in. The last piece of the puzzle dropped right into place. Bob, 3. Sirens, 0.

Three services. One street. One camera. One lucky afternoon.

Not every day the city rolls out the full lineup. But sometimes, if you’re standing in the right place at the right time—with a lens ready—you catch the whole show.