Chicago Fire is a high-stakes drama that follows the men and women of the Chicago Fire Department’s Firehouse 51, who put their lives on the line to protect the people of Chicago. Starring Eamonn Walker as Battalion Chief Wallace Boden, Jesse Spencer as Truck Lieutenant Matt Casey and Taylor Kinney as Rescue Squad Lieutenant Kelly Severide, fans get to watch Truck 81, Squad and Ambulance 61 serve the city and manage their interpersonal relationships both inside and out of the firehouse. With varying personalities, ambitions to switch between companies and life-or-death stakes, Chicago Fire always supplies excellent drama.
The first season of the series sets up the stakes and realities of the job, including the tough decisions that are made, and how they can sometimes land the crew in hot water, as well as the intricacies of the relationships among the men and women of the firehouse. Fans of One Chicago are also introduced to other characters from the universe, such as Sergeant Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) and Detective Antonio Dawson (Jon Seda), Paramedic-in-Charge Gabby Dawson’s (Monica Raymund) brother, in this season, laying the groundwork for Chicago P.D. and the crossovers to come.
10. “Pilot”
Episode 1
The first episode of Chicago Fire sees Firehouse 51 recovering from the loss of one of their own, Andy Darden (Corey Sorenson), who died during a call one month ago. Lieutenants Matt Casey and Kelly Severide, who were close friends of Andy’s, are stuck in a cycle of blame over who is responsible for their friend’s death, and tension is high. Newcomer to 51, Peter Mills (Charlie Barnett) is a firefighter candidate hoping to one day be on Rescue Squad, just like his father was, while veteran firefighter Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg) suffers a serious injury after falling through the floor on a call.
Despite the trials and tribulations of the interpersonal relationships within Firehouse 51, it is obvious to viewers that this crew of firefighters and paramedics would do anything for each other, even if they don’t always get along. The pilot episode does a great job of establishing the stakes for the crew of 51, showing, through the untimely death of Andy Darden, what can happen when orders aren’t followed or mistakes are made. This is a life-or-death job, but they get through it together.
9. “Ambition”
Episode 20
With Peter Mills making his move to Squad, and consequently spending a lot of time with Severide and the rest of Squad, his Truck peers are starting to get frustrated that he’s looking elsewhere. Ambulance 61 has a ride-along this shift, Tara Little (Brooke Nevin), but she doesn’t seem to have what it takes to handle herself at such a busy house, and her sights are set on capturing Severide. While Severide is busy spending the night with Tara, he misses his insemination appointment with his good friend, paramedic Leslie Shay (Lauren German), who tells him she no longer wants his help with her pregnancy journey as a result.
Tension between Truck and Squad is an undercurrent throughout the series, as Squad can get a little mighty on their high horse, leaving Truck feeling overlooked, and Mills’s toggling between the two does not help. By the end of the episode, Severide manages to patch things up with Shay, but unfortunately, Chief Boden tells him that Tara is pressing sexual assault charges against him, claiming that he lured her to his apartment and assaulted her. Audience members get to see a couple of different sides to fan-favorite Severide in this episode, giving a man who is typically unwilling to admit he did something wrong, the chance to apologize to a friend, which he does, as well as the prideful side to him, which is shown when he refutes the claims that he assaulted Tara.
8. “A Coffin That Small”
Episode 19
The death of Andy Darden comes up again in this episode, when Severide sees Andy’s widow, Heather (Chaon Cross), at Casey’s place. This leads to a screaming match between the two in the middle of the firehouse during a shift, which is only interrupted when the firehouse is shot at from the outside. The tension is not dispelled when Severide tells Casey that he’s going to transfer Mills from Truck 81 to Rescue Squad. In the aftermath of the shooting, the gang presence around the firehouse increases, and Casey takes it upon himself to figure out what the issue is.
The argument between Casey and Severide, which is the product of a miscommunication, continues the tension between the two over the death of their good friend, and is an entertaining scene for fans. With the addition of the gang harassment of the firehouse, and the potential transfer of Mills, tension is high all around in this episode. Fortunately for 51, Casey goes to the gang leader to uncover the reasoning behind their attack, and after the gang members see the show of support 51 gives to a fallen victim, they decide to stand down.
7. “Retaliation Hit”
Episode 21
Severide is undergoing a Chicago Fire Department Ethics Board hearing due to the sexual assault allegations filed against him, with Randall “Mouch” McHolland (Christian Stolte) representing him, but Severide wants to confront Tara himself. Due to Severide’s allegations, the whole firehouse is undergoing sexual harassment training. Meanwhile, the man who helped Casey take down Detective Voight (Jason Beghe), who has been harassing Casey ever since the firehouse responded to a drunk driving accident where Voight’s son was at fault, has been murdered and Voight is now out of prison.
Voight’s release gives both Casey and Dawson anxiety, as Gabby cares for Matt and has been trying to help him through the harassment he’s been receiving. Additionally, Hadley, a Squad (William Smillie) member, attempts to prank Mills by switching out his chili with dog food, due to Mills’s stepping in to help a victim during a call when Squad wasn’t able to. Hadley’s shenanigans quickly get him transferred to another house, while Severide’s chat with Tara only makes the situation worse. The story lines that have been in play all season long are starting to reach a fever pitch, keeping audience members on their toes.
6. “Rearview Mirror”
Episode 6
The Detective Voight arc gets more complicated in “Rearview Mirror” when Voight’s intimidation tactics begin to escalate. Despite the fact that Casey’s fiancée, Hallie (Teri Reeves), asks Dawson to convince Casey not to testify against Voight’s son, Casey doesn’t back down, and Voight shows up during a call to taunt him. Casey’s stress starts to impact his work and Chief Boden sends him home. While at home, two police officers knock on Casey’s door with a search warrant, having been told that he has cocaine stashed somewhere. All of this intimidation culminates in Casey seeking out the help of Gabby Dawson’s brother, Detective Antonio Dawson, who successfully captures Voight paying someone to get rid of Casey, resulting in Voight’s arrest.
Throughout this episode, Voight shows how antagonizing he can be when someone does not immediately bend to his will, but Casey is unrelenting in his desire to speak the truth, regardless of intimidation. This episode also provides some romantic tension for fans, as Gabby Dawson’s feelings for Casey become more and more clear through her worry for him and her desire to protect him from Voight. Additionally, despite Gabby incurring a suspension for her conduct on a call, her only sadness at the end of the episode seems to stem from Casey’s happy relationship with Hallie.
5. “Merry Christmas, Etc.”
Episode 10
Joe Cruz’s (Joe Minoso) younger brother Leon (Jeff Lima) has been getting in trouble with a gang recently, and Cruz has been having a hard time managing his stress about it. It’s quite a coincidence that, at an apartment fire that the crew is called to, Cruz stumbles upon the gang leader who has been causing Leon so much trouble, and Cruz leaves him there to die. In other news, Chief Boden is on to the missing medication from Ambulance 61’s rig, which Shay gave to Severide to help him manage his pain from an injury. When Severide doesn’t seem too bothered by this heat from Boden, Shay decides to move out of their apartment, unable to keep up living with someone who lies so consistently.
Viewers are faced with a lot of intense and thought-provoking decision-making from the firefighters and paramedics in this episode, from grappling with Cruz’s choice to leave the man who was hurting his brother to die when his job is to save him, to questioning Severide’s decision to put his friend and coworker in danger of potentially losing her job to service his growing problem. Despite the fact that these characters help people every day, they are not strangers to making some questionable decisions.
4. “One Minute”
Episode 4
Chief Boden is facing some heat for a decision he made during an abandoned warehouse fire, as he decided to pull his firefighters out of the building when he saw black smoke, leaving a man inside. The brother of the man who died is pressing charges against the Chief for his decision, and the Fire Department is putting together a committee to investigate. Meanwhile, Voight’s threats are becoming physical, and he even tries to bribe Casey to recant his statement against his son.
The allegations against Chief Boden, and the questioning from some of his own men about his decision, show the reality of being in a position where tough calls need to be made, and how a chief must factor in the safety of his charge before sending them into a spotty situation, even though that may mean some civilian lives lost. Fans also get to learn more about Shay in this episode, as she runs into an old girlfriend of hers during a call, and this shakes her up quite a bit.
3. “A Hell of a Ride”
Episode 24
In the season one finale, Firehouse 51 responds to a fire in a prison when the power goes out. Due to the security of the prison, the power outage means the firefighters are locked in with the prisoners, and while the technician tries to explain to Mouch how to break into the power grid, Boden tasks Squad with breeching the prison block. Though Herrmann is held up by a knife by one of the prisoners, and the prisoners are roaming freely among the main block of cells, the firefighters manage to lock themselves in an office until Mouch gets the power back on and Severide floods the room with smoke, rendering the prisoners harmless.
A prison fire is an interesting case for fans to watch, especially as outside the prison, Herrmann’s wife Cindy (Robyn Coffin) is giving birth to their fifth child! The layering of stakes both inside and outside the prison makes for an even more gripping episode for fans. On the personal side, Dawson hypes herself up to tell Casey how she feels about him, until she realizes that he is still reeling from the recent loss of Hallie, and decides to put a pause on her confession. And Herrmann isn’t the only one who is expecting in this episode, as Renée (Sarah Shahi), an old flame of Severide’s, comes in from out of town to tell Severide that she is pregnant with his baby.
2. “Leaders Lead”
Episode 22
Kelly Severide launches an offensive attack on Tara, asking Detective Dawson for help gathering information about Tara’s past, where he finds evidence of similar accusations she has made against former coworkers. Luckily for Severide, as Chief Boden tells him that he will take his Squad leadership position away if he contacts Tara again, his digging works and Tara reluctantly agrees to drop the charges. Things take a turn for the worse for Casey and Hallie, as Casey finds Hallie unconscious and badly burned when the team responds to a fire at her clinic. Despite their best efforts, she doesn’t survive and Casey is crushed.
The most intense part of this episode is the loss of someone close to Casey, and consequently, a member of the 51 family. Keeping things personal for the firefighters makes it feel personal to the audience as well, especially as Casey and Hallie start off the episode back together and happy. Fans also get to see Severide vindicate himself by proving that Tara was lying about him sexually assaulting her, as well as some progression for Mills and Gabby’s relationship, even if it is short-lived.
1. “Professional Courtesy”
Episode 3
The root of the Voight and Casey conflict can be found in “Professional Courtesy,” when 51 is called to a car accident scene, where a van with a father and son inside has been flipped over, and Casey notices that the other driver has alcohol on his breath and open containers of alcohol in his car. The other driver was Voight’s son, and Detective Hank Voight will do whatever it takes to make sure this accident flies under the radar, including bribing the firehouse with a much-needed new TV. While Casey weighs whether to tell the truth in his accident report or not, Severide learns that he has sustained a small fracture in his spine, and must decide if he wants to get surgery to fix it, or to risk the loss of his motor skills.
The tension of the season amps up immensely in this episode, as this is the beginning of two overarching story lines for the season: Casey’s feud with Voight and Severide’s pain management problems. Fans can see where both Voight and Casey are coming from in their disagreement. Casey wants to get justice for the father and son from the accident, as the father has been slated as the cause of the accident in a faulty police report, thanks to Voight, and the son has been paralyzed from the waist down. While Voight wants to protect his son from the DUI charge, which will likely land him in jail. Creating conflict where both sides of the argument can be justified is a great way of building a lasting and convincing source of drama.
