Chief Pascal has been struggling to keep his head above water throughout Chicago Fire season 14, and it seems Firehouse 51’s chief could soon be about to finally go under.
In episode 12, “Coming in Hot,” Chief Pascal is going to come under fire after a firefighter is injured on a call in which he’s running command on. The moment was teased in the promo for the episode as we see Firehouse 51 respond to a building fire and things quickly take a turn for the worse when the roof collapses on one member of the responding team. “Firefighter down,” comes through over the radio as we cut to Pascal outside the building with a concerned look on his face.
The identity of the injured firefighter is kept hidden, though it seems we can rule Cruz, Herrmann, and Kidd out of the pool of concern. Cruz is seen witnessing the moment the roof collapses; Kidd is outside with Pascal when the “firefighter down” message comes through on the radio; and Herrmann seems to be taking the day off as the synopsis notes that he’ll spend the episode dealing with family issues.
Regardless of who was injured on the call, it appears that the injury is going to put Pascal in hot water and is set to come under “intense scrutiny” after the firefighter is injured under his command. It seems very real that Pascal’s job could be in jeopardy and that his future within the CFD will be up in the air as a result.
What should make fans even more concerned is that we know Dermot Mulroney will soon be taking a step back from the show, last appearing in episode 14 before going on an extended break. When word of Mulroney’s exit was announced, it was hinted that viewers will understand more about the decision as the story plays out.
With Rob Morgan set to replace Chief Pascal at Firehouse 51, it seems likely that the injury that occurs in episode 12 might put Pascal’s exit into motion. It seems quite possible that Chief Pascal could be placed on suspension following the incident or that the moment will launch an investigation that might eventually lead to his official suspension and Morgan’s arrival at 51 to take over for Chief Pascal while he’s on suspension.
We’ve seen characters injured on calls many times before, so for Chief Pascal to come under intense scrutiny following this particular injury, we imagine the injury must have come as a result of a call he made directly. It’ll be interesting to see what that call might be and how the events will play out, but it’s clear Chief Pascal is about to come under fire and we’re not sure how he’s going to get through this situation given things are about to get worse before getting better.
