Original subtitles

It was super fun.

Dr. Frost is definitely my thing.

I thought I was catching some sort of vibe when we were talking to Vasquez.

Do I think he's nice to look at? Yes, I do. But it is not like that at all.

I'll be at Molly's.

We all will be.

I'll see you there.

Hey Vi, you wanna ride?

I can't get my journals back.

Or the stuff from my friends.

There are some things we can't get back, no matter what we do.

You know, and I just wanted to go back to being normal.

You don't just move on from something like this, Christopher.

Dad, I saw smoke. All right, all right, where?

I don't know, I just... All right, all right.

Should we get out of here? Let's just stay calm and wait for your dad to check

it out, okay?

I don't smell anything.

Are you sure? I swear.

Come here, honey. Come sit with me.

Well, there's no fire.

Hey, hey.

We're okay.

I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me.

I really thought... You have a bad dream again, maybe?

I'm really sorry I woke you guys up.

It's okay, honey, all right?

It's all okay.

We're fine.

We're safe.

That's the important thing, all right?

Everything's okay, sweetheart.

Yeah.

Can I stay in here with you guys?

Yeah.

Hold up.

McDonald's made a bubblegum-flavored broccoli. To get kids to eat more

vegetables. You can Google it. Oh, I will.

Hey, look who it is. How you doing, Kylie?

Hey, team.

Hey, you floating on truck today? No, we're just gearing up for the next

session of Girls on Fire. Yeah, Severide's in Cleveland visiting Isaiah,

so I got a little extra free time, and this is way better for me than TikTok.

Well, it's great to see you, Kylie.

The sign-ups are coming in hats. Yes.

We've got almost twice as many as last session.

Very nice.

Hey, Macy!

Drill's on fire, session 12.

Let's get off the blocks, y'all.

I hope you came with a notebook full of drill ideas.

Oh, you know it, Lieutenant.

Good. All right, show me what you got.

Okay.

Tell me if this is weird. Go on.

So, Dr.

John Frost left over last night, and it was a blast, as usual.

Mm-hmm. But I had to leave for shift before he woke up, so he is still in my

apartment.

Without me.

That's the weird part? Yeah.

What if he decides to go through all of my drawers?

Why would he do that?

Why wouldn't he?

Okay, I have to tell you something about last night.

Um, so I went... Well, today is gonna blow.

What's wrong?

Vasquez's sideline has shifted, so we're running with three, and nobody's happy.

When did that happen? They emailed early this morning.

I don't like when Vasquez isn't here.

It's much more fun to have a crush around.

Crush on Vasquez?

What about Frost?

Frost is casual.

Vasquez could be too.

Keep all options open. That's my motto.

Anyway, so, um, what happened with you last night?

Oh, uh, yeah. You know, uh, I thought I was coming down with something, but then

I woke up this morning and I felt fine.

Okay. You have got to get more action off shift, partner, because I can't be

the only one around here with embarrassing stories.

What'd she say?

All right. If being at school is going to make things worse, then I'd say that

we just let her stay home. But, hey, it's your call.

Okay.

Let me know what she says.

Bye.

Everything all right?

Annabelle, she's been having these little episodes.

What kind of episodes?

It's the kind that wakes everybody up in the middle of the night because she

hears something or smells smoke.

Yeah, she's been through a lot.

Yeah.

Now, Cindy, she wants her to, you know, go talk to a therapist, but she's

fighting us on that one.

Man, it's just every time you start to think that the worst is behind you, and

then...

Good morning, 51.

Good morning, Chief.

A couple of quick things.

As some of you may have already heard, CFD musical chairs bit us in the ass

again today.

Personnel reassigned Vasquez to truck 64 this shift for God knows what reason.

Apologies again, kid.

Yeah, no sweat, Chief.

And Cruz is acting up while Severide's out of town.

God help us.

Really?

No rest for the weary. Let's hit it.

What's that noise?

Keep the traps inside.

Strug, get that door open. Yeah, copy that. Tony, grinder. Copy that. Strug,

move around the building. Try to find another entrance for a primary search.

See if we can keep that fire at bay until an engine company arrives. You got

it, Chief. All right.

51 to Maine, I'm requesting a still-in-box alarm with an EMS Plan 1 at

my location.

And an ETA on that engine company.

There's another working fire in the area.

First engine is five to seven minutes out.

Relax.

Clear,

clear. Is there anybody else in there? There are more vendors setting up. What

is this place?

Textile market. Maybe 10 or 15 shops.

One of the kiosks caught fire near the back.

We all got trapped.

I got her.

Come with me. We're going to get you something for that cop, okay? Get in

there. Squad, mask off. Copy.

Think somebody made it up? Well, doors popped open. Someone went in.

Chief, we found an open door on the Bravo side. We're going in.

That next engine's five to seven minutes out. Don't overcommit. You're on your

own for now.

Copy that. We'll see how deep we can get, but the fire's rolling back here.

Let's pull up the path.

Hit it, Ballard! Copy.

You all right?

Take a look.

You took the last job to get the hell out of here. Copy that.

51 to Main. Where the hell is my engine company?

Engine 27 is three minutes out.

Medic!

I've got you. I've got you. This way. This way.

All right. They all took in smoke. Watch for delayed rest. Respiratory distress.

He has asthma.

All right, copy. Come with us.

Breathing is rapid and shallow.

All right.

Hey, he needs an inline nap. We got him. Thanks.

Steve, I'm going back in.

Go.

Help Tony in the last shop.

I'm on it.

Medic, let's go, let's go.

Medic!

61!

All right, keep an eye on his arm. He's got a pretty bad burn.

There's no burns that I can see, but she's breathing pretty rough. We got

her. There may be more diamonds.

Hurry up, hurry up. Copy.

Like hell you are whatever just collapsed in there fell without warning.

There's still a chance engine leads the way start running a hose line Okay

27. 81.

Run two lines! We're going offensive.

Nobody re-enters the building.

Copy that.

Let's go, let's go, let's go.

Where does it hurt, Tony? Right side.

Not bad.

Well, I've seen a lot worse. Just hang in there, okay?

Let's stabilize it. Let's go, let's go. On it.

I knew something was going to happen.

I could feel it in my bones. This wasn't on you.

There wasn't a trace of brown smoke, no sign of fire in the trusses.

Yeah, Cruz, it came down out of nowhere.

We had just cleared the last room when, bam, never heard it coming.

If you guys were even two steps closer... Yeah, well, they weren't.

This never would have happened if we'd had an engine company with us from the

start. This is exactly why you don't decommission rigs on a whim.

Hey.

Okay,

he's doing great, all things considered.

The doctors don't think that the metal slap penetrated any organs, but they're

bringing him up for a CT scan.

When can we see him?

It'll be probably a few hours.

Well, this sounds promising.

You might as well head back, wait for any news.

Chief, if you don't mind... You can ride with me.

We'll debrief on the drive.

Well, they'll keep us posted.

I'll be back at the firehouse. I'll see you there.

Hey,

Lizzie. Check this out.

How much time do you have?

Damn.

Not enough.

Yeah, I gotta go.

Boo.

I'll call you later.

Glad to know your squad guy's gonna be okay.

Yeah, same.

Oh, think about what you want to do over the weekend.

I'm up for anything.

Oh, yeah.

Okay.

The place was a maze, which would have been tricky enough, even if every shop

didn't have highly flammable materials in it.

Sounds intense.

Yeah.

How's Tony doing?

Docs say he'll be laid up for a couple weeks, but all things considered, I'd

say he's pretty damn lucky.

Hey, kid, can I grab you for a second? Sorry.

Yeah. Hey, let's bat around some ideas for a great first stage role.

Just something to really set the tone.

Yeah.

What's up?

So, we let Annabelle skip school today, you know, because of everything.

Yeah. And Cindy, she's got to go to work. And Annabelle, she says that she

doesn't feel like staying at home by herself.

So, Cindy, she's going to drop her off in a minute. And I'm just wondering if

you're good with her, you know, hanging out here for a while. Of course.

Yeah. Whatever you guys need. It's her house.

Yeah.

I appreciate that.

Yeah.

Hey, kiddo.

Sorry, Dad.

I got dressed and everything.

I just couldn't.

It's okay, hon. All right? Don't be sorry.

Go inside, grab a snack, all right? Just go hang out in my office, and I'll come

and find you in a minute.

I know.

I thought things would get better with time, but it just seems like it's

getting worse, doesn't it? Yeah.

And I don't know if we're helping.

What do you mean?

I don't know.

I mean, I know PTSD is a real thing. Yeah.

But what if we're indulging this a little too much?

You saw her last night.

It's not like she was faking it.

I know.

Letting her stay home every time she's feeling anxious.

That can't be the answer.

We need to get her in to see someone.

Don't we?

Okay, yeah.

I'll try and talk to her today.

Good luck with that.

That was fast. They sent the deputy district chief?

That's not good, is it? No, it probably means they want someone's head.

Chief Cranston?

Chief Pascal.

I'll take it they sent you here to do an investigation.

Well, yeah, that's protocol when a firefighter gets injured.

As you know.

You're the injured man's lieutenant?

Acting lieutenant, sir.

Joe Cruz, all due respect, Chief, I don't know what you've heard, but you

should know Cruz did everything by the book on this one. He's operating in

extremely challenging fire conditions with a three-man crew and no engine.

Still managed to save three civilians.

Yeah, Chief Pascal, I... If they want to bring someone up on charges, they ought

to start by looking at the genius who decided to decommission those engines,

not Cruz.

It's not Cruz we're looking at, Chief.

It's you.

How long have we known each other, Chief?

30, 35 years?

I hope this doesn't have anything to do with our history.

Of course not. You think I'm being tough when he's sitting in front of that

incident review board?

We were totally outmanned.

That's a fact.

We didn't have any water, for God's sake. Well, you didn't evacuate when you

should have. That's a fact.

To be honest with you, sir, I...

Based on my read of smoke and fire conditions, there's no chance in hell

that beam should have collapsed that early without warning.

Unless the building wasn't up to coat.

You're suggesting there was unpermitted construction in that building. There had

to have been. It's the only plausible explanation.

I had the same thought.

That's why I pulled the building's permit history.

Every subdivision in that structure, fully permitted and inspected by the

city in the last year.

Now, there is another plausible explanation, though.

Could it be that maybe you just misread the conditions?

Acting Lieutenant Cruz, why don't you walk me through the incident from your

point of view?

Yes, sir.

Herman, how's Annabelle doing?

Just, you know, keeping to herself.

When I brought up the whole... A therapy topic.

She says that chat GPT is all the help that she needs.

There's no way talking to AI is the same as talking to a legit medical

professional.

Exactly.

And that's what you've got to tell her for me.

Me? Yes!

You are a medical professional yourself, and you are not her mom, you're not her

dad, and you got a better chance than I do of convincing her. I mean, I'm not

exactly sure that, you know, therapy is the only answer, but it's a start,

right?

Fine. I will give it a shot.

You're the best for coming.

I'm not so sure about that.

Hey, all right, um, you take this to her. It's her favorite. It's turkey with

a little hot sauce, okay?

Thank you.

You got it.

I mean, ChatGPT says anxiety is totally normal after a traumatic experience.

Yeah, I mean, that's not wrong.

But the thing is, talking this kind of stuff out, it might help to do it with

someone who has actual emotions.

I probably will go to a shrink, TBH. Right now, is it cool if we don't talk

about it?

It's all anyone wants to do.

Of course.

I'm just here for the free turkey sandwich anyway.

Mom, um... how are you with relationship advice?

Really good.

Okay.

So... there's this guy, and, um, we had a really fun night.

And I think I...

I kind of like him.

But I think one of my best friends likes him too.

Uh-oh. Yeah.

I thought she was into someone else or I never would have gotten together with

him.

So, um, do I tell her what happened or not?

Do you kind of like him or do you really like him?

Uh, I don't think it matters either way.

What's important is now that I know how she feels, it's not going to happen

again.

Then... I'd say don't tell her.

It's not worth it.

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

What do you think, Lieutenant?

It's pretty good, but not great. I just wonder if it could be a little more

difficult.

Hey, Macy, hold up there for a sec.

Herman, can you grab me some webbing out of there? You got it.

Thank you.

You're stimulating a wire entanglement.

Exactly.

There we go. All right, Macy, go ahead.

You know, when I was at Proby, my lieutenant, he used to run the same

drill with us.

Except he would put down, you know, random pieces of brick and cinder block,

and when you bang your knee into it, it would hurt like hell.

I bet you learned how to sweep the floor for debris real quick, though. Bet your

ass we did.

Almost there.

There you go.

Got her. Nice work.

We're not trying to make it dangerous or anything, but the whole point of putting

these girls through real firefighting drills is to challenge them and build up

their self-confidence.

Remember what they say in the academy?

Smooth seas do not make a strong sailor.

I think it's crazy how they can set up an incident review panel in one day.

But I ordered a new pair of gloves two months ago and nothing?

Oh, uh, they were in this shop on the Delta side.

If this shop's space build-out was permitted, there must be another

explanation for the collapse.

Tony and Kev, they were right underneath.

Well, what was this beam?

I still don't know how the hell they walked away from that.

Hey, Chief, I don't mean to pry, but something happened between you and

Cranston back in the day.

He was one of my first real partners at the CFT.

We had a difference of opinion on a call that didn't end well.

That's it.

Chris. Yeah, what do you got, Chief?

I see these bolts.

Yeah, those bolt heads look like they broke right off.

That's not normal, is it?

No, they're column buckles.

Bolts usually twist and stretch before they break.

Those bolts look like... It's almost like they were... Like they were cut?

Yeah. Sure as hell does.

Why would somebody do that?

Excuse me?

You can't be here.

This area is restricted.

I just need... You know we can't have the subject of an internal investigation

anywhere near the scene, Chief.

I understand, but if you look under the base plate, you can clearly... I can't

discuss any aspect of this investigation with you, sir.

Not till my work is complete.

Now, please.

John said, think about what you want to do this weekend. I'm up for anything.

And you don't want to hang out with him? No, I do.

I'm learning that you're a very complicated woman when it comes to

relationships. That's the thing. This isn't a relationship.

And yet he's already assuming that we're hanging out this weekend like we're some

kind of... committed couple.

Not if I'm from... What you've told me, it's not crazy for him to think that. I

mean, I kind of did too.

Ambulance 61, person down of unknown cause is 29887 Milwaukee Avenue.

Hi. I don't know what happened, all right? They said no allergies, but

obviously something happened.

Oh, wow.

I need to know exactly what you two ate.

Salad and soup. We shared it.

Let's get to the chef. Now.

O2's good, but heart rate's climbing. Copy.

Huh.

Hello. What's that?

It's solidified carbon for cryoplating. You mean dry ice?

It's a carbon fog meant to chill the plate and enhance the flavor.

Did you put the dry ice in the soup? I thought it was a garnish.

It's not meant to be eaten. You were supposed to have told them that.

Okay, call in for another ambo and let men know we've got two victims coming in

with potential esophageal or gastric perforation. Copy. Thank you.

Okay, we've called for another ambulance to get the both of you checked out. In

the meantime, please take sips of water, as much as you can. It'll help melt the

dry ice and relieve some of your pain.

Let's get them some to-go cups, please.

We don't really do that here.

I'll find something.

Okay, backup Ambo is three minutes out. Oh, great. Okay, let's get you both to

med. Let's go.

You got it.

Chief? Who's gonna reach out?

Captain Hargrave from OFI called me.

Figured you would. What the hell are you thinking?

Stomping around the scene like that.

I had to go take a look for myself, try and figure out what actually happened.

Those columns that collapsed, I looked under the base plate. Those bolts were

sheared clean off. If the fire is hot enough, they will do that. I know.

These bolts look like they were cut.

You're telling me this was ours?

I don't know for sure, but deliberately weakening a structure so that it

collapses? That's happened before. You have got to let OFI handle this, Dom.

You know as well as I do that CFD's looking for any excuse to trim headcount

right now. I'm fighting for my life.

And I could use an advocate.

An advocate?

Really?

Like someone who has your back at a new firehouse?

Talks up to the chief, tells you who to ride with, who to stay away from, like

that. I appreciated every bit of advice you gave me back then. I still do.

You had one, one disagreement on a call, and you cut ties?

That was more than a disagreement.

That call, that was like a nightmare come to life.

That young woman died waiting behind your bed.

Praying for somebody to find her.

You blamed me for that?

No, Al, I... I didn't blame you.

You might have outranked me, but I could have fought harder. You respected me, at

least enough back then that you would have listened. There was time to do

another sweep. I know it.

We might have found her.

I haven't been able to shake it no matter how hard I tried, and that's why

I put road between me and Chicago.

You should have responded when I reached out to you.

I know.

Chief, I'm not gonna ask you to cross the line.

I just need you to look at those columns and those bolts.

That's all I ask.

And in a fun twist, the hot maitre d' followed us to the rig and invited us to

dinner there tonight on the house.

Wow, isn't it, like, impossible to get a reservation there?

Won't be for long after word gets out they're serving dry ice to their

customers. But you should come with us. The food looks amazing. I appreciate

that, but I invited Macy and Kylie to Molly's. I owe them a beer for all the

work they're doing with Girls on Fire.

I mean, Kylie's working on the rosters for the new session as we speak. She's

the best. She really is.

Oh, you guys are going to have a blast fighting over the hot meter D. Can't

wait to hear who wins the prize.

The Fire Academy?

This is the big secret destination?

Yeah, this is it.

I said I was fine to go to school today, Dad.

I don't get why... Just trust your old man for once, will ya? I mean, I have

not completely lost my marbles yet.

Fine. But this absence is on you.

Wow.

What are they doing?

Oh.

They are trying to master their fear.

That's right.

One of the first things that you learn in firefighter training is that fear,

it's a logical human response to certain things, heights, fire.

That fear is totally normal. It's even good.

You know, a fire's dangerous, right? And overcoming that fear sometimes ain't so

easy to do.

Wow. Yeah, he's pretty good at that, right?

See, that takes a lot of training.

That's the thing. See, you work really hard at this stuff so that, you know,

regular people, they can go on about their lives. God forbid something bad

happens, that guys like this, they're here to help.

I heard you're getting sprung already.

As soon as the doc signs off.

It is a shame. I was really hoping to get some time off from that ugly mug

use. You will.

Doc says it's going to take a few weeks for this to heal.

You know, the next time a structure's coming down, maybe you don't stand

directly under it. Says the guy who nearly got his eyes burned out. At least

I didn't try to rescue a department store mannequin. You used a halogen on

an unlocked door because you pulled instead of pushed. I got in. Hey, you

guys, we get it. You are both terrible firefighters.

And he wore it on Pascal.

Hearings this afternoon?

They shouldn't be doing this. Not on my account.

Chief did nothing wrong.

Honestly, with all these budget cuts and everything, I get the feeling that the

brass was waiting for something just like this.

What do you mean?

Well, if the CFD wants to thin the ranks, firing an officer for just cause

is the cheapest way.

They just need a reason.

And now they have one.

In fact, early forms of jiu-jitsu were used by samurais, so that's cool.

It is, yeah.

So, what's up?

As much as I appreciate learning all the martial arts history, I have a feeling

it's not why you stopped by.

So, come on.

Talk to me, Lizzie.

Yeah, okay. Yeah, you got me there. The thing is...

I have so much fun hanging out with you.

But I just... I wanted to make sure that we're on the same page. I mean, you and

me, we're... We're casual, right?

I mean, we haven't really been acting that way.

Or talking that way, to be honest. I'm sorry if that was on me, but I hope we

could just...

move past that and keep seeing each other.

I'm not in this just for the hookup, Lizzie.

I like you.

A lot.

I like you too.

Okay.

Um... Look, Lizzie, if you're not... seeing any kind of future in this, then

I think that maybe it's best we just end it now

before anyone gets hurt, you know?

So this isn't like a trial?

Not yet.

Chief Cranston's gonna present his conclusions, make a recommendation,

they'll ask some questions, and with a little luck, that'll be that.

Well, what if it isn't?

What if they decide to draft formal charges?

Let's jump off that bridge when we get there, Chief. For you now, I would

recommend... Excuse me, everyone.

Unfortunately,

today's hearing is going to need to be postponed.

We just heard that Chief Cranston was working a 311 on the south side early

this morning, and he collapsed on the scene.

Was it a heart attack?

Looks like it.

Is he okay?

Hit it, Megan.

And that's how Dr. John Frost ended it.

Over a cup of lukewarm hospital coffee.

But it's kind of you that ended it, right? I mean, it sounds like he really

likes you.

Yeah, well, he... he doesn't know me all that well.

Is there someone else that you like more? Is that what's stopping you from

wanting to get serious with John?

Yeah.

There are tons of guys.

Guys like that.

All right, but... Okay, you don't want to commit to 51 at first, but at the end

of the day, once you did, it turned out to be a perfect match.

Wait a second, are you trying to convince me to get serious with Frost?

Because you want the Hot Major D?

Because I will gladly step aside. I would do that any day of the week for

you. No, no, I am not here for the Hot Major D. I am here for the awesome

company. Oh, me too.

And thanks for being the world's greatest partner.

And a great listener.

Hey, right back at you.

Okay. Now, let's think of all of the ways that we can get rich so we can eat

at places like this more often. Oh, yes.

Okay, new, more flattering paramedic pants. There's definitely market for

that.

Got the first six weeks mapped out. Pretty damn good.

Halfway there.

What do you think about doing a Saturday session over in the drill hall?

Red tape's gonna be a beast, but if you're up for it... Training Chief loves

me. I think I can sell him on it.

Hey! Hey!

Now it's a party.

So, a new Girls on Fire application just dropped in my inbox.

Damn. How many is that now? I think that makes it 18.

Oops. Wait, let me send it to you.

Alright.

Never heard of a Muay Thai, pal.

My tie is rum, lime juice.

Hey, Herman. Yeah.

Looks like you made quite an impression on Annabelle over at the academy

earlier. Who said that?

Well, Annabelle did.

So she put in an application for Girls on Fire, and she wrote a whole essay

about how she wants to be a firefighter, maybe even squad.

She wants to be a firefighter? That's pretty damn cool.

I was going to say terrifying.

Hope it's good news from the hearing.

Uh, hey, Chief.

This is the second Chief we've lost to a cardiac in the last six months.

I heard about a captain over at 33 diagnosed with lung cancer.

Doesn't have much time.

Harrison?

Oh, yeah.

I knew he wasn't doing well, but I didn't realize.

It's just so crazy how you can cheat death for 40 years, run it into burning

buildings, and then it just catches up with you right when you're getting ready

to sail off into the sunset.

We all give a lot to this job eventually, one way or another.

I'm sure whatever it is can wait, don't you think, Captain?

Actually, I think you're going to want to hear this.

Chief Cranston insisted I put a rush on the examination of the column bolts from

the incident.

Your hunch was right.

There was something off about those bolts.

They were zinc-plated A307 bolts, not proper angle bolts. They weren't up to

code. I thought Cranston told us that all that work was inspected and

permitted. The initial build-out was, but turns out the owner did additional

work without pulling permits.

moved the column to make more space, and when they reset it, they used cheap

hardware store bolts that snapped like pretzel sticks when that column got

stressed. That's what caused the sudden collapse.

See, Chief, there's no way you could have foreseen that.

That's what Chief Cranston was planning to tell the review board.