.
- [gasping]
Somebody pulled me out, I know that, but...
- What happened?
- We almost lost two of the best
firefighters in Chicago.
He was either gonna come up with you or not at all.
- Hey, Cruz, you good?
- Just been a little off
the last couple of weeks, you know?
- I've gotten that promotion to deputy of...
[all cheer] - Hell yeah!
- Does this mean that you won't be working
out at 51 anymore?
- My office won't be here,
but y'all gonna see plenty of me.
- Been busy with so many non-emergencies lately.
- They're taking up so much time,
there aren't enough ambulances at the real emergencies.
I've been thinking of a way I might be able
to help that situation, actually.
- [mouthing]
[sentimental music]
- Wow.
How early did you get up?
- [sighs] Five, I think. Might've been four.
That pilot program I was telling you about
in San Diego, I printed up a bunch of articles on it.
They call it Paramedicine.
Basically, it's a nonprofit private ambulance service
that caters to frequent 911 callers
with nonemergency needs, which frees up ambos
on shift to handle real emergencies.
- Really smart. - Yeah, it is.
So I'm gonna study all this stuff and then maybe
write up a plan that would fit with the CFD.
What do you think?
- I think that you--
Are amazing.
♪
- This is all we had in the storage room,
but, uh, I can run out for more.
- No, no, should be plenty.
Hey, I don't think I need expense reports from 2011
or any of these packets of ketchup.
- Hey, cool mug.
Don't want to break it.
- Hmm.
That is a welcome gift from when I first came to 51.
Yeah.
30 odd years.
Collect a lot of memories.
- Well, then, good thing your new office
at district headquarters is even bigger.
- Yep, good thing.
- Dude, it's all over my timeline.
- Insane. Look, and check it out.
The original post has over a million views.
- Hey, Captain-- - Yeah.
- Have you seen this?
[screaming] Whoa, hold it!
- Someone posted it on social media,
and it is blowing up right now.
- They've given you a superhero name--
The Firefly.
- Firefly and Fireflyghter
are both trending on Twitter right now.
And people are even making Tik Toks.
[heroic music playing]
- All right, all right, that's enough.
- If you had a social media, you'd be getting
so many new followers from this.
- Uh-huh.
- I could set you up with an account.
- [chuckles] I'm good, thanks.
- Hey, what you got there?
- Have you heard of a mini free library?
- I've heard all three of those words,
just never together.
- Okay, we put it at the end of the apron.
Neighbors can take a book, leave a book.
I put up a flyer right there. Bring your old books in.
- Yeah, I see that now.
Right next to the sign-up for the parade duty,
which I also didn't do. - [chuckles]
- Have no fear, Mouch. I got you covered.
- Oh, look at this. What do we got?
These are all--
all Pulitzer winners.
- I would not know. I do not read for pleasure.
They are Mazie's. - That still going?
- It is not. [alarm blaring]
- Squad three, truck 81, engine 51.
Multi-vehicle accident, State and 37th.
[sirens wailing]
[suspenseful music]
♪
- Everything okay? - Yeah, I'm fine.
I'm not sure about her, though.
- Squad, extricate the driver.
We'll cover you with extinguishers.
- Yeah, copy that.
Capp, Tony, jaws and cutters.
- Cruz, get ready. We're going under.
- Copy that.
♪
- Ritter, grab that line!
- Copy that!
- Let's get a little bit of Lake Michigan on this cargo.
- I got it, Captain.
- Good.
- Hit it.
♪
- [hyperventilating]
.
- [hyperventilating]
[suspenseful music]
♪
- Cruz! Cruz, where are you?
Grab a side. - Yeah.
Ugh.
- Got a female victim. She's unconscious.
I need a backboard and a C-collar.
- Copy. - Collar board coming in.
- One, two, three.
[indistinct radio chatter]
- All clear.
- Let's get her to Med.
- All right, let's see if that fire wants to try to reignite.
- Hey, Herrmann, how do you feel about
staying behind to do overhaul?
It's gonna take a heavy duty wrecker to clear this mess.
Might not get here for a while.
- Yeah, no, no sweat, Captain. We can handle it.
- Great. See you back at the house.
- Hey, Ritter, let's get a chain on this car
and get it out of here.
♪
- Hey.
Cruz--
what happened to you back there under--under the trailer?
- Oh, um--
I wasn't getting a good fit on my mask,
and I figured I'd back out for a second to fix it.
Yeah, I didn't mean for you to have to step in.
- No, I was--I was right there. It was no big deal.
- Captain Casey? It's you, right?
From the video?
- Yeah, yeah, that's me. - We go to St. Ignatius.
- We saw the post about you and the rescue.
And we're like, "Firehouse 51 is right near us."
- Can we--can we get a photo with you?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, sure.
Oh, like the selfie kind? - Yeah.
- Yeah, okay. Oh! - Here.
[heartfelt music]
- All right.
All right, I took a bunch, so you can pick the best one.
- Stella Kidd is the one you guys should get to know.
She runs this great program called Girls On Fire.
- Yes!
Yes, which you might totally be into.
Yes, it's a program designed to get young women
like yourselves interested in the fire service.
So basically...
- So Captain Casey has some fire fans.
[laughter]
- That's what you get for showboating.
- Okay, Doherty, hit it.
- Ah, come up! Come up!
Good.
- Look, when is it better to just lift the trailer
instead of-- - Shh!
- Charlie! - Yeah.
- Grab that. - Yeah.
Got it?
- Huh.
[baby cries]
[apprehensive music]
♪
- Oh, no.
Okay, hey, hey.
- Big guy, eh? Hey, buddy, you're okay.
Hey.
Get that thing off of you. Yeah.
Got you, okay?
Yeah. I got you.
Okay, Ritter, go get the pediatrics mask.
- Okay.
Yeah, you're okay.
This is engine 51 with an urgent request.
I need an ambulance at State and 37th.
- Copy, 51, stand by.
- Hey, all right.
Okay. Yeah.
Listen, you're gonna be okay, all right?
We're gonna get you back to your mom
as soon as possible.
Okay, you good? - Yeah.
- All right, come on.
Turn him. Got him? - Yup, yup, yup.
- Got him? - Yeah.
- 51 to Main, can I get an ETA on our ambulance?
- The nearest ambulance is 15 minutes out.
- Should we just take him in the engine?
- No, he needs a medic right now.
- Well, Leonard, your vitals are normal.
- Feels like my heart's gonna explode.
- You sure you're not just having a little anxiety again?
[phone ringing]
- Hey, Herrmann, what's up?
- Hey, Brett, you on a call?
- We're just wrapping up, why?
- I'm at State and 37th, uh--
I got a little boy here in bad shape.
Dispatch is telling me that the nearest ambo
is 15 minutes away.
- Yeah, we're just up the block.
We can be there in two minutes. - Really? Do it.
All right, whatever you got to do, get here.
- Okay, yeah. We're on our way.
- Leonard, I want you to do your breathing exercises
and your meditation app. - Oh, I forgot about that app.
- It'll help, promise.
- Hey, you hang in there, big guy.
Okay, help is on the way.
.
[suspenseful music]
♪
- He's crashing. Barely breathing.
- All right.
Stethoscope.
Lungs diminished.
- Pressure's low, heartrate's elevated.
- His trachea's starting to deviate.
- Ooh, tension pneumothorax?
- Yeah, we need to decompress him.
- Okay.
- Uh, no, that's too big.
Give me the regular 16 gauge angiocath.
- Mm. - Yep.
♪
- [gasping]
- He'll be okay?
- I don't know if he has internal bleeding
or head trauma-- we gotta get him to Med.
Little help? On three. One, two, three.
♪
[siren wailing]
- You want me to call off that other ambo?
- Uh, uh--
Yeah. Thank you.
- Yeah.
51 to Main. - Go ahead, 51.
- 61 responded to our signal.
We don't need that ambo anymore.
- Hey, Herrmann, heard your ambo request
come in over the radio. What was that about?
- Um--
There was a little kid in the backseat of that car.
- What? - Yeah.
Four, maybe five years old.
- I looked. I checked back there.
- There was no way for you to see him.
Not until we pulled that car out
from underneath that trailer. - Damn.
- Well, even then, it was only Herrmann that heard him crying.
I had no idea.
- You tune into that frequency after five kids.
- Is he okay? - 61 was nearby.
If he survives it's thanks to them.
Listen, I'm gonna go hit that shower
and wash that call off.
Let me know when, you know, Brett and Violet get back.
- Sure thing, Lieutenant.
- My mask had a malfunction.
I could've--I could've gotten in there.
I could've seen him.
- Stella and I were in there, and we didn't.
- I--I just wish I could've been more help, that's all.
- Yeah, we all do, Cruz.
- Yeah, uh, yeah, no, of course, I know.
[sighs]
- Chief, how's the packing going?
- I got a little distracted by the sound
of screaming teenagers out in the apron.
- Oh, I'm really sorry, Chief.
There's this video going around.
- Oh, I know.
- I haven't done anything to encourage it.
- You better start.
Brass thinks this is a great way
to boost the profile of the CFD.
- No. - Yes.
- It's gonna blow over. The sooner the better.
- They don't want it to blow over yet.
They want to capitalize on the publicity.
- Meaning?
- Meaning they have a request of you.
- What do they want me to do?
- The key to these things is variety.
You need a little thriller?
You got your Grisham and Connelly.
You need a little drama?
Oh, look, "A Visit from the Goon Squad."
Oh, you're into nonfiction?
Might I interest you in 500 pages on Ulysses S. Grant?
- What's this one?
- Oh, that's nothing special. It's just, like, an extra--
- "Sheets on Fire?"
- [gasp] This rings a bell.
- Yeah, well, the CFD put the kibosh
on what might've been five years ago.
So rather than have my labor of love sit in a box at home,
I thought I might put it out in the world.
- I like the dude on the cover. - Pearls before swine.
- Hey, be honest, was this whole thing
just to get somebody to read your pearls?
- I am not gonna dignify that question with an answer.
Help me move this outside and up on the stand.
- Hey. - Hey.
- Ritter said you were asking about that little boy.
- Uh, yeah. How's he doing?
- Well, they were still running tests when we left,
but he was stable.
I'm glad we were in the neighborhood.
Otherwise...
- They were gonna make that kid
wait for 15 minutes. Can you believe that?
- Yeah, it's--it's these constant nonemergency calls.
- I already phoned home.
I made Cindy do a head count on all the kids.
I just wonder.
Am I ever gonna stop doing that after a call with little ones?
- Hey, sorry to interrupt.
Chief Boden wants to see you two in his office.
- Us two? - That's what he said.
[apprehensive music]
♪
- She's my best PIC.
Ah, come on in. Close the door.
Brett, meet your new paramedic field chief.
- Oh, hi. I'm Sylvie Brett.
- Evan Hawkins.
- Uh, am I supposed to be here? - You Christopher Herrmann?
- That's right.
- I understand you fielded a cell phone call
from Lieutenant Herrmann and rerouted yourself
to an accident scene without clearing it with dispatch.
- That's what this is about? - Yes or no, Brett?
- Um, yes.
- Is she in trouble?
- She broke protocol.
The only question now is, does this offense warrant
suspension or termination?
- Let's hear it, Brett. What happened?
- We were wrapping up with a long time frequent flyer
when I got the call from Lieutenant Herrmann.
We were a few blocks away, so--
- So you left without contacting dispatch.
- Yes, but I had the address.
- From Lieutenant Herrmann? - Yes.
- Who had already called in an urgent ambulance request?
- Yeah, which wasn't gonna show up for 15 minutes.
That kid would've been dead by then.
Are you gonna punish her
for saving the life of a little boy?
- Herrmann...
- The other ambulance wasn't rerouted until the request
was cancelled, so in effect we had two ambulances
responding to the same call at a time
when we were already stretched thin.
- Yeah, I should've cancelled that request
for that other ambo right away,
but I happened to be a little distracted.
- Which is why the protocols are in place.
- Ah, no. That's on me.
Um, I lied to Brett.
I told her that I had already cleared it with dispatch,
you know, the whole switcheroo, and...
- Why'd you tell her that?
- Because Brett's a stickler for the rules, all right?
And I wanted to get her to my scene
as quick as possible.
Listen--
You want somebody's head? You take mind.
♪
- Well, I thought we were dealing
with a medic issue here.
- I'll take over from here.
Herrmann.
I'm gonna have to write you up for this.
You know that, right?
- Chief-- - Understood.
- Everything goes through dispatch.
- Right. I got it, Chief.
- Sorry we had to meet under these circumstances, Brett.
I hope we don't meet again anytime soon.
- Yes, sir. - I'll walk you out, Chief.
♪
- You didn't have to take the hit for me, Herrmann.
- Oh, no, it's fine.
You heard Boden-- they're just gonna write me up.
.
- Captain Casey.
LeeAnn Trotter, NBC 5 News. - Nice to meet you.
- So we've been doing stories about
our city's heroic first responders all year,
but that was some real superhero stuff.
Straight out of the movies. - [chuckles]
Would you mind moving your equipment to the side?
If our rigs have to roll out-- - Oh, I'm so sorry.
Move to the grass.
- Everything okay?
I saw the new chief of paramedics here.
- Yeah, it's all good, thanks to Herrmann.
I'll tell you about it after all this.
- CFD asked me to do an interview.
- Oh, I heard. Go get 'em, Firefly.
- Let's get you mic'd up and into the chair.
And not to worry, just going to ask you
some basic stuff like where you're from,
how you became a firefighter, things like that.
- Right.
Well, if it's all right with you
I'd love to talk about the current
ambulance shortage, too,
and our paramedic, Sylvie Brett,
who has an idea on how to help.
- Of course we can do all of that.
- Great.
[curious music]
♪
- Will you look at that?
If you build it, they will come.
- Excuse me, is this yours? - Yes, ma'am.
Compliments of Firehouse 51.
- So something the Chicago Fire Department
endorsed is what you're saying?
Because my 10 year old son, Benjamin,
was reading this filth, which he says he got from here.
- Uh, well, filth is a subjective--
- Do you know what the word "age appropriate" means?
- That's two words.
- There's a school right over there.
- I understand.
- Maybe you should use some common sense before
you dangle smut in front of children.
- I'll, uh-- I'll make some adjustments.
- You'd better.
♪
- You doing okay? - Yeah, of course.
Why wouldn't I be? - I was talking about the beer.
- Right, uh, no, I'm good. [clears throat]
- All right. You sure?
'Cause I've been giving some
pretty solid bar advice tonight.
- Yeah, uh, Chloe's gonna be back from work soon,
so I'm just gonna head home.
- Um, okay.
I--well, say hi for me.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sure thing. Will do.
- Yeah.
- Kidd, Kidd, turn it up. Casey's interview is coming on.
- Yes, yes, yes.
[cheers and applause]
Ooh, this is exciting. - Eh, come on.
- Hey, don't be nervous.
- Hey, everybody, shut your traps!
- By now you've all seen this viral video
from the Chicago Fire Department.
- Yeah, we have! - Firefly!
- And if you think that was amazing,
take a look at the latest sensation on TikTok.
Watch as this Florida woman pulls her dog
from the mouth of an alligator.
- Ahh! Oh, my God. - That's it? What--
where's the interview?
[patrons murmuring]
- Maybe they're gonna air it tomorrow?
- Or maybe I'm not as exciting as a dog-eating alligator?
- Well, to be fair, who is?
- The only reason I'm sorry it didn't air is that
no one got to hear about your Paramedicine idea.
- Oh, well, I talked to Kidd about it,
and she said to bring it to Boden.
That's what she did with Girls On Fire.
- Hmm.
- Hey. - Damn, did I miss the piece?
- It turns out Casey's 15 minutes are already over.
- That was fast. - Ugh. No kidding.
Hey, have--
have you noticed anything, um,
off about Cruz lately?
- Like what?
- I don't know. He just--
Hasn't totally seemed like himself, that's all.
[apprehensive music]
♪
- I'll keep an eye on him.
.
- Morning. - Hey.
- Captain Casey!
My friend thinks you're hot.
- [laughs] - Stop!
[pensive music]
♪
- Don't start.
- I hope this never ends. - [laughs]
- Hey, look at it this way.
The news cycle may have moved on,
but you are still a teen heartthrob.
- [groans]
♪
- You wanted to see me, Chief? - [chuckles] Come on in.
- Last shift at 51, huh? - It is.
- Tougher than I thought it would be,
seeing your office like this.
- Tougher than I thought it would be to pack it up.
- We had some talks in here, huh?
- We have.
And we're about to have another.
- Yeah.
You gotta do what you gotta do, boss.
- [chuckles]
Look, I was hoping that maybe I could let this slip by.
That Hawkins is new enough that he might not push,
but I got a call from him today.
If I don't submit a report, he will.
[sentimental music]
Herrmann, this type of action, it's--
it's a pretty serious mark on your record.
It could affect your career going forward
and then prevent any further promotions.
You sure you want to take the hit for this?
- It's a small price to pay for a kid's life.
Listen, please, don't mention this to Brett
or anybody else, you know.
She was incredible out there,
and I don't want her to feel any worse
than she already does, so.
- I'm gonna miss working beside you, Christopher.
- Yeah, let's not get sentimental, okay?
Hey, uh--
how about, um--
weekly morning coffee? I don't know.
You and me, Manny's Deli, huh?
- Mondays.
- Mondays it is.
- What about the lady who calls 911 every time
she needs a prescription refill?
- Edna.
Her grandson's been looking for a group home
for dementia patients that they can afford,
but it's been tough going.
She actually hasn't called in a while.
We should check on her.
- Queen Cleopatra. - First on my list.
- What kind of list are you two making?
- All our frequent flyers.
I'm trying to estimate how much time
we spend with them each week.
- How about Alan?
That homeless vet who needs a Narcan shot
at least two, three times a week.
Poor guy. - Yeah, perfect.
See, for people like him, instead of rolling out
to keep putting a Band-Aid on the problem,
we can link him to special services
like a rehab facility.
And for Edna, maybe we can
match her with a nearby senior center?
- This could actually really help in so many ways.
- Fire. Fire. Fire! Fire!
[suspenseful music]
♪
- No. No!
No one come any closer.
This is a crime scene now.
- Mm, I don't think-- - Brett.
This is arson. The worst kind, a book burning.
So if you don't mind, I would like to contact
the office of fire invest--
[alarm blaring] - Squad 3...
- Damn it! - Person trapped,
517 North Dayton. - Come on, Mouch.
Nobody's gonna touch that mess till we get back.
- You better be right.
[sirens blaring]
♪
- Help!
Help! [groaning]
I'm stuck! Get me down from here!
[groaning]
.
- Second floor egress is too dangerous.
- Approach from above? - Yeah.
- All right, squad, grab the rope bags.
- Copy. - We're going to the roof.
- Mouch, Kidd, raise the aerial.
Gallo, you're on recon. Third floor, let's go.
[machinery whirring] [metal groans]
- Hurry!
[alarm beeping]
[dramatic music]
- All right, tie up an anchor point to that beam.
Cruz, put on a harness.
You're going over the edge with me.
- Yeah, I went over last time.
Let Capp have some fun for a change.
I'm good on anchor.
- Yeah, fine. Capp, you and me. Come on, let's go.
- Copy.
[metal groaning]
- I just heard the crash.
- Evacuate until we tell you
it's safe to reenter the building.
- Yeah, yeah okay. - Can't see the victim.
- [groans]
- Got him.
- [groans] Help!
- Squad three, what's your status?
- We'll be a few minutes.
- I can get down to him with my bail out rope.
See if I can free him.
♪
- Ready? - Yup.
- Cruz, we good? - Anchor secure.
- Look like Truck beat us to it.
- Stand down, Capp. I'll go assist.
♪
- Oh, there we go.
Pull.
- My leg. My leg.
- I'm gonna try to lift some weight off, okay?
- Okay.
- [groaning]
- Couldn't wait for us, huh?
- Well, you always tell me every second matters.
- Hey, Mouch, go ahead with the aerial.
I'm bringing him down.
- Okey-doke.
- Good? - Yep.
- [grunts]
- Got him? - Yeah.
There you go. - All right.
All right.
Nice move back there. Too bad no one was filming.
- I don't know, I saw a couple people
with their phones pointed up at us.
Not that I care.
- Nice work, Gallo.
- Severide, don't go anywhere. I need your expertise.
Assuming we know who did this, how do I prove it?
- Prove arson? - Uh-huh.
- Let me ask you something. - Anything.
- Are these your reading glasses?
[pensive music]
- Uh--uh, well, they--
- You left them in there facing the sun,
the light hits the lenses
against the dried paper and wood, and...
- Huh.
- I think we caught the arsonist.
- It's--it's one possible--
- I want all this cleaned up by the end of shift.
- Yep.
- [imitates engine revving]
Get that basket you got over there and get him out.
All right.
Hey, Cruz, get over here.
This guy is part of the rescue team that pulled you out.
- I don't know how to thank you.
All of you. Words don't seem to be enough.
- Who's this guy? - This is Alice's boy, Teddy.
- Yeah, he's pretty tough. Healing fast.
You know, Joe's about to have a son of his own soon.
- Oh, yeah?
- Uh, just a few weeks out.
- Congratulations. - Thanks.
- Everyone will tell you time flies.
And they're right.
[sentimental music]
I almost didn't get to see him grow up.
But now...thank you for that.
- I'm just glad to see him doing so good.
Right? - Yeah.
- Put water all over that fire. - Oh, yeah, gotta get it.
- 'Cause that's what we do.
♪
- Hey, Lieutenant.
You, uh, gonna change out, or--shift's over.
- Yeah, I will.
- What are you doing?
- I need to know if you're okay.
- [chuckles]
I'm good, Lieutenant, 100%.
I feel great.
- Okay. Good to hear.
- Catch you later. - Yeah.
♪
- Gonna be strange not having you here.
- Well, I'll be working out of a different office,
but I'll be around.
- We're gonna hold you to that.
- Please do.
You were looking for me. - I was.
Kidd told me you helped her with Girls On Fire,
and I was hoping you could maybe do the same for me.
I have a project that I wanna present to the brass.
Something that I think might help the sort of delays
that put that little boy in jeopardy,
but it needs a supervisor's approval first.
- Uh, well, um--
as I'm not your battalion chief anymore,
chain of command has changed.
I'm not allowed to sign off on things like that now,
so you have to go through your new supervisor.
- You--you mean at 51? Let Casey do it?
- No, it can't be a captain.
You're gonna have to go through your chief.
- You mean Paramedic Chief Hawkins?
The same guy who just told me
he hopes he never sees me again?
- That's the one.
- Uh, heads up, Captain.
There's another teenager out there looking for you.
- Another one?
I thought internet fame was fleeting.
- I could distract them for you while you slip out the back.
- Eh, it won't kill me to take one more selfie.
- All right.
- Now that's a firefighter worthy of hero worship.
Andy Darden. He was a good friend of mine.
Gave his life in the line of duty.
- I know, Matt.
He was my dad.
[sentimental music]
- Griffin? - I'd ask what's new,
but I already saw you all over Reddit.
That was some save.
- [laughs] Look at you.
- It's been a while, huh?
- What is it? Seven, eight years?
[laughs]
Feels like a lifetime, bud.
How are ya? How's Ben? How's your mom?
What is it, Griffin? What's wrong?
- Uh--
I need your help.
♪
[dramatic music]
♪
[wolf howls]