Ottawa streamer Tiagz is drawing attention online after sharing footage of an exchange with emergency responders, following what he says were multiple fake emergency calls to his Airbnb.
The clip was highlighted in a reel from @shottawa.tv posted on October 4. According to the account, the fake calls are what's commonly known as "swatting", where someone reports a false emergency to send police or firefighters to a person's door.
What the video shows
In the footage, Tiagz is told the fire department was treating the latest call as frivolous. He is also told he could be sent a bill for the fire trucks that responded, with a figure of $500 per truck being discussed.
The post describes this as something that was discussed on camera. It does not say a bill has actually been issued, and ottown has not independently confirmed the details with the fire department or with Tiagz.
Why people are talking about it
The account's caption called the idea of being charged "CRAZY", and many viewers seem to agree. According to the post, the reaction online has centred on a few questions:
- Why would the person allegedly being targeted by false calls face the cost of the response, rather than whoever made them?
- Why hasn't the person behind the alleged swatting calls been identified?
- Could billing victims give trolls one more way to hit streamers financially?
That last concern is a pointed one for people who broadcast online. Streamers can be easy to find and easy to target, and a prank call that triggers a fee on top of the disruption would be a hard thing to absorb.
What we don't know yet
The post leaves several things open. It does not say where the Airbnb is, how many calls were made, how many trucks attended, or whether police are investigating who placed them. It also doesn't say whether the fire department has formally decided to bill anyone, or whether the charge could be waived or appealed.
Why this matters beyond one streamer: false emergency calls send crews to places they aren't needed, which can pull them away from real emergencies. How a city treats the person on the receiving end of those calls is a fair question for residents to ask.
If Ottawa Fire Services or Tiagz offer more detail, we'll update this story.
Source: @shottawa.tv on Instagram
