Chicago Fire, which began in 2012, aired the premiere episode of its 13th season on September 25th. Set at Firehouse 51, Chicago Fire focuses on the firefighters and paramedics of Truck 81, Engine 51, Squad 3, and Ambulance 61 and how they serve the city of Chicago and deal with their personal lives. The first of the three One Chicago shows, Chicago Fire, set the standard for this trio of procedurals and will likely continue to do so in the coming season.
Chicago Fire‘s 13th season does not come without changes, though. Fan favorite paramedic Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) left midway through Season 12, and Wallace Boden (Eamonn Walker), who led the team at Firehouse 51 for all 12 seasons, took on a new role within the CFD. Great leaders remain in place at Firehouse 51, including Lieutenant Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney), who runs Squad 3; Lieutenant Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo), who oversees Truck 81; Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg), who leads Engine 51; and Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith), who is the Paramedic in Charge on Ambo 61, but Boden’s departure left a spot open at the district level and in Season 13, Episode 1, “A Monster in the Field,” audiences finally began to learn more about who was going to fill it.
What Happened to Wallace Boden?
Wallace Boden began Chicago Fire as the Battalion Chief for FIrehouse 51 and eventually became the Deputy District Chief for the CFD’s District 4, which included 51. After working with the team at 51 for years, Boden had become a mentor and family member to nearly everyone. He encouraged Matt Casey (Jesse Spencer) to become a Captain and supported Severide when he wanted to spend some time working for Arson Investigations. It was Boden who first thought that Kidd would make a great lieutenant, and he suggested she pursue the pathway and gave her all the support she needed to start Girls on Fire, her program that recruits young women to the CFD. Boden even walked Kidd down the aisle when she and Severide got married, which further solidified their bond.
In Season 12, Episode 12, “Under Pressure,” Boden learned that Paramedic Chief Danya Robinson (Laura Allen), who had been nothing but trouble for 51 earlier in the season, was pursuing the open Deputy Commissioner position. Worried that Robinson would change things at CFD for the worse, Boden threw his hat in the ring for the position and, to his surprise, received the appointment. Season 12, Episode 13, “Never Say Goodbye,” was a beautiful tribute to the character and left room for Boden to return, even if just for an episode.
Who is Dom Pascal?
With Boden in a higher position, District 4 needed a new chief. Enter Dom Pascal, played by Dermot Mulroney, who got his start as a firefighter with the CFD before relocating to Miami. Pascal has 27 years on the job and spent 10 years with Miami Fire-Rescue before coming back to Chicago, though no one is quite sure why he returned. By the end of the episode, audiences meet Pascal’s wife, Monica (KaDee Strickland, best known for Private Practice), with whom he seems to have a bit of a strained relationship. It appears that part of the reason for his return has to do with his wife, who already admonished him for working too much in “A Monster in the Field.” She might have let him into their house at the end of the episode, but it stands to reason that their problems aren’t anywhere near over.
Pascal makes an interesting impression on the team at Firehouse 51. Kidd already doesn’t like him much just because he isn’t Boden, and while Severide and Herrmann do a great job showing the team how to respect the chain of command, there are plenty of firefighters who are still unsure about Pascal and some of his changes. (Cell phones in a bin during meals?! How dare he.) He manages to win some folks over, though, especially when he walks into a fire without any additional protection from the debris dropping from the sky — which he instructed every member of his team to make sure they had — and when he supported Violet and paramedic Lyla Novak (Jocelyn Hudon) when they wanted to follow up with a young girl from a car accident. It’s obvious that his presence is going to be pretty polarizing for the team, at least at first.
Where Have Fans Seen Dermot Mulroney?
Chicago Fire fans are likely to have seen Dermot Mulroney, the actor playing Pascal, just about anywhere — since he began acting in 1986, Mulroney has held nearly 150 different roles. He is best known for several romcoms he did in the ’90s and early ’00s, including My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997), which he starred in opposite Julia Roberts, and The Wedding Date (2005), where he played a male escort that Debra Messing’s character hired to accompany her to a wedding. He also played Everett Stone in The Family Stone (2005) with Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson, and Rachel McAdams, among others, and his most recent romantic comedy was Anyone But You (2023), the Netflix film starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell.
Mulroney’s career on television has also been incredibly robust, and he often pops up as the father or boyfriend of a main character for just a few episodes. In 2003, he appeared on Friends for three episodes as Gavin Mitchell, the man who seems to have taken over the job Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) did before she went on maternity leave. Mulroney guest starred in four episodes in the first season of New Girl as the boyfriend of Jess Day (Zooey Deschanel) and even came back for episodes in seasons 2 and 7, and from 2015 to 2017, he played Sean Pierce, the fiancé of Fiona Gallagher (Emmy Rossum), on Shameless. Fans of Station 19 will also recognize him as Greg Tanner, the father of police officer Ryan Tanner (Alberto Abrezza), and he had a particularly memorable 4-episode stint as John Wesley Seasons in the first season of The Righteous Gemstones. Mulroney’s extensive and varied career shows he’s a talented actor, and just the first episode of Chicago Fire‘s 13th season proves he’ll be bringing all of that talent with him to Chicago.
What Will Chief Pascal Bring to Firehouse 51 in Season 13?
With just one episode under their belt so far in Chicago Fire‘s 13th season, there is a lot that fans don’t know about Dom Pascal. He has promised to bring changes to Firehouse 51, which fans already began to see in Season 13, Episode 1, “A Monster in the Field.” “You’re going to thank me,” Pascal said at one point in regards to changes he was making. “Either that or you’ll decide I’m a dick.” Pascal clearly has his own way of doing things, and both Severide and Kidd have already noted that something feels off. They’re not wrong.
Part of the way through “A Monster in the Field,” Lieutenant Stephen Vale (Phil Donlon) stops by to see Pascal. Their conversation is brief, but it tells audiences that there is something Pascal is hiding. “I heard about what happened in Miami,” Vale says. “You okay?” Pascal says he is, but Vale doesn’t believe him, even trying to tell him that he heard differently, but Pascal obviously doesn’t want to talk about it. It’s never great when a character on Chicago Fire is hiding a secret, especially when it’s about the job. Audiences will have to wait and see what Pascal is hiding and how the team will continue to deal with him, but one thing is crystal clear — Dom Pascal is making waves at Firehouse 51, and the repercussions will likely last all season long.
