Original subtitles

Squad positions don't come up very often.

You have a week to recommend a suitable replacement.

If you don't, Headquarters will.

Tomlin wants to move one of his guys into that slot.

It feels like he's gunning for me.

Your mom again? That's her third call today.

We're not close.

Honestly, I don't even know what she wants.

Well, maybe it's worth finding out.

Time! Not bad.

-What's the record? -Don't worry about a record.

This job... it is not about who finishes first.

It's just making sure that everybody does.

What are you doing?

Trying to be late for our last shift?

Aw, I think Burke's getting nostalgic.

I'm getting my game face on, boys.

This is how you reach peak performance.

But you two wouldn't know anything about that.

I heard it's hell a competitive this year.

What happens if I end up at some funeral home

on the Northwest Side getting one call a week?

Then you're gonna get really good at playing Uno.

Relax, big guy.

Every truck in the CFD's gonna be fighting over you.

I'm the one who's screwed.

No way I'm finding a spot. Engine guys never retire early.

Guys, we'll land where we land.

Seriously, there's no point in stressing about it.

It's my last shift, Vasquez.

-You gonna miss me, bro? -Hmm.

They do say absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Oh, yeah?

Can't wait to test that theory out.

It's gonna be so quiet next shift

without the probies around.

Oh, and no more eye candy for us.

No offense.

All right, wait, is this the probies' last shift?

Because I thought they were supposed to be here

for six weeks.

It has been six weeks. Where you been?

Just as I was getting used

to the extra snoring in the bunk room.

Hey. What are you doing here?

I come bearing gifts.

-Oh, we do love gifts. -For your fundraiser.

I passed the boot around the office.

That's what you guys call it, right?

Yeah. That's so kind.

-Thank you so much. -Yeah.

-What fundraiser? -For the joint-duty program.

A bunch of the departments want to implement it,

but a lot of the smaller ones can't afford the extra training

and supplies.

So Violet had the brilliant idea

of asking Chief Robinson if we could raise money

to put training kits together and then donate them.

Yeah.

Sorry I couldn't collect more, but, uh,

contrary to popular belief,

print journalism's not exactly booming.

No, come on, anything helps.

Besides, the real moneymaker's

gonna be this fundraising video.

-Oh, God. -Check it out.

Eh?

See, it's already racking up all the likes.

We're gonna go viral any minute now.

Love the choreography... very Balanchine-esque.

Thank you. That was all Violet.

Meh.

Damn, you could've taught the South Barrington Pom Squad

a thing or two.

Well, I spend way too much time on TikTok, clearly.

Whatever it is, it's working for you.

Stop.

Hey.

Oh. Have you heard from Cruz?

Yeah, him and Chloe are almost done packing.

They'll be driving up to Minnesota next week.

Already?

I'm gonna miss him.

Have you thought any more about filling his spot on Squad?

No.

What, you're not worried that Chief Tomlin

might still try and push his guy?

We made a deal.

I'm hoping that buys me enough time to find someone I trust.

You should get on it still, just in case.

-You ready? -Yeah.

I know you're all eager to start your last shift

here at 51, so I will make this quick.

The open roster report is due out later today,

and once it lands,

you will receive your first assignments

as full-fledged Chicago firefighters.

You should be proud of yourselves.

I know I am.

But it's not time to celebrate yet.

You still got 24 hours,

and we are not about to take our foot off the gas.

In fact, we're gonna step it up a notch.

You're gonna be riding with Squad today.

Bring your A game.

-Squad 3, Ambo 61... -Go get 'em.

Motor vehicle accident. Division and Hoyne.

He was flying down the street,

took the turn way too fast.

All right, everybody move back.

Back up.

-Buddy, what's your name? -Dustin.

-Dustin, can you move at all? -Nah, man.

My leg... it's stuck.

-Hey, what do we got? -He's pinned in.

Compound fracture right above the femoral.

-You think it's severed? -There'd be more blood.

Unless the pressure's tamping it down.

How much time do we have once that pressure comes off?

A minute, maybe less.

If it's severed, we lose him quick.

All right, listen up... the bike and the truck

are acting as a tourniquet on his upper leg.

The second we lift, we lose that pressure,

open up his femoral.

So once we start, we move quick.

-Copy. -Copy that.

Yep, we'll be ready.

-All right, Tony, you set? -Set.

Okay, up on red.

Up on blue.

Hold there.

Burke, Hollis, tighten up those cribbing.

Tony, Capp, be ready.

-Yeah. -On it.

All right, Dustin, time to go.

I'm gonna roll you off in one, two, three!

Let's get it high and tight.

Okay, you cover the wound, I'll grab the stretcher,

and we'll push fluids on the way to Med.

Copy.

-Ready. -On three... one, two, three.

-Good? -Yeah.

-Just hit 1,000 likes. -Oh, wow.

I don't want to jinx it,

but we're really killing it at this fundraising thing.

Speaking of which,

it was pretty cool of Jacob to pitch in, huh?

-Yeah, I know, right? -Mm.

What?

What's going on with you two?

And don't tell me that you're not into him,

because your body language this morning begs to differ.

No, I just... I don't know.

It's... you know, it's complicated.

Is it?

Kind of, yeah.

I mean, we always end up

talking about stuff from the past,

and that was a weird time for me.

-So I don't love that. -Who said anything about love?

I'm just saying... it's obvious you two are into each other,

so what's wrong with having a little fun, right?

Damn, I forgot to give this charger back.

I will meet you back at the ambo.

You're not getting away that easily.

-To be continued. -I don't doubt it.

Hey, Kacy, I forgot to give this back to you.

Oh, I was literally just donating to your fundraiser.

You guys already hit your goal. Congrats.

-Wait, really? -Yeah.

It looks like that big donation put you guys over the top.

What big donation?

Um, Margaret Mikami.

Is that... is that your mom?

He's one lucky bastard... one step to the right,

he would've cleared the truck and bled out.

"Lucky"? His femur bone was hanging halfway out his leg.

Seriously, bro, right before lunch?

Hey, Vasquez, Tony pulled a crazy-ass move

on the way to the call... drove right down the center line.

Oh, yeah. It's called splitting the seam.

So what happens if a car hangs right

-at the intersection? -You just got to stay alert.

The key is to ride the Jake brake and melt the Q.

I'll teach you the next time we're out.

-Oh, that'd be sick. Thanks. -You got it.

Hey, let's go. Ladder relay drills in 10.

Full turnout gear. Set it up.

You've been giving, uh, the big guy

-some driving lessons, huh? -Ah, you know, here and there.

He really wants to get behind the wheel.

That's interesting.

I drove a rig for a long time.

I know a couple of tricks myself.

-More than a couple, I'll bet. -Yeah.

-Hey, Herrm? -Yeah.

-Do you want to coach Hollis? -Nah. No, no, no.

We don't want to change horses in midstream.

Okay. Just let me know if you change your mind.

Yeah.

I already called Robinson

and told her that we can't accept the donation.

Really? It's... it's $5,000.

You don't know my mom.

She does not do things out of the kindness of her heart.

This is just her trying to force me

into a conversation.

I know it is a lot of money to turn down.

It's just, uh...

You don't have to talk about it if you don't want.

But I meant what I said...

you don't have to tiptoe around the mom stuff.

When I was in high school,

my mom paid this sleazy college-consultant guy.

She basically tried to bribe my way into Stanford.

But you didn't go to Stanford?

No, I didn't.

I pulled my application as soon as I found out

what she was up to.

And she lost her mind

because she couldn't get the money back.

Yeah, it was a huge mess.

My dad basically divorced her over it.

And the thing is, I know I could've gotten in on my own.

She stole that from me.

-That is really awful. -Whatever.

I mean, it all worked out in the end.

And it made me realize that I didn't want any of that...

the fancy school, the fancy degree.

I-I just wanted to help people.

Hmm.

So why is she coming out of the woodwork now,

do you think?

No idea.

She does this sometimes...

usually when she needs something.

Kidd. Long time, no see.

Maletski.

I heard you were named a training officer.

Uh-huh.

You here to check the open roster report?

Yep. You?

I'm here as a buyer, actually.

-You got an open spot on 73? -Yep.

And word on the street is,

your probies are the cream of the crop.

How would you feel about sending one of them my way?

I know we're not 51,

but we're a hell of a lot busier than your average house,

and it's a permanent spot.

I don't know. I-I got to see what's what.

What's going on? Have they not posted it yet?

What's wrong?

There's only one.

And it's yours.

One what?

Only one open spot in the entire CFD.

Only one open assignment... how is that even possible?

Times are tough.

People want to hold on to their jobs as long as they can.

It's never been this bad, though.

What the hell am I supposed to do?

I mean, it sucks for the probies,

but it's not your job to place them.

Not technically, but they have been busting their asses.

I... I have worked too hard

for them to end up in the floater pool,

working one shift every couple weeks,

picking up second and third jobs just to make ends meet.

They're not all going to the floater pool.

Maletski said he'd take one of them, right?

That's the other thing, though.

How am I supposed to choose?

They're riding with me today. Let me evaluate them.

I'll give you my recommendation.

You just focus on finding spots for the other two.

Okay.

Let's not tell them anything, though.

I don't want them getting in their heads.

Whatever you think.

All right, listen up.

You got 60 seconds to clear 3 ladders...

through the rungs, ground crawl, backpedal drag.

As soon as one of you clears the first ladder,

the next can go.

And go!

I remember when my knees could do that.

You haven't moved like that a day in your life.

They're doing pretty damn good.

I got to take this.

Time.

All right, you guys can go and take a breather.

They all finished under time.

Why do you look like that's a bad thing?

'Cause I can only recommend one of them.

You must've got to know 'em.

They've been shadowing you on truck.

Which one would you put on your rig?

Oh, I...

I don't really...

I mean, I didn't really get to know 'em all that well,

if I'm gonna be honest.

Ah...

No, I get it.

Yeah. No, thank you, anyway, for calling me back.

And good luck with your guy.

Yeah. All right, bye.

What, no luck?

I have called every friend that I have in this department.

There is nothing out there.

I'm starting to run out of ideas.

Yeah, I might have an angle worth trying.

I'm all ears.

A buddy of mine blew out his knee a while back,

and I remember he kept having to check

the Pension Board website

to see when his disability hearing would be.

Apparently, it's public information.

You're saying anyone can check it?

Yeah.

So ChatGPT says you should expect to raise

about half the money

in the first three days of your fundraiser.

And we're more than halfway to our goal, so that's good.

Yeah, that's great. Did you fact-check it?

Wait, which part?

And he said, well, that...

I must admit, that's a good apple fritter.

And I said...

There's plenty more where that came from, sir.

I promise you that.

Is... is that...

Oh.

Hello, sweetheart.

So nice to meet you all.

That was embarrassing.

What the hell are you doing here, Mom?

Well, it's nice to see you, too, Violet.

I'm not doing this with you, okay?

I am at work. You have to go.

I'm sorry that I came here unannounced,

but you have been ignoring all of my calls and texts.

Yeah, and a normal person would've taken that

as a hint to back off.

Well, I think a normal person would've called

their own mother back, but what do I know?

Mom.

Okay.

I had something important to tell you,

and I couldn't just leave it on your voicemail.

What is it?

Could we maybe not do this here?

Maybe we could have dinner or something?

Coffee, even?

Wow. No. I-I'm sorry that you came all this way,

but I can't just drop everything for you to...

I'm sick, Violet.

ALS.

They're telling me I have a year, maybe less.

Gosh, I'm really... I'm so sorry, sweetheart.

I really...

I didn't want to do this here.

I am gonna be in town until Friday,

so...

I hope we can see each other before I leave.

Lieutenant Reed. Hi, I'm Lieutenant Kidd.

It's great to meet you.

-I've heard so much about you. -Yeah, same here.

Look, I'd give you the grand tour,

but we've got a general inspection next shift,

and we're in a little bit of a scramble.

No, I get it. I will make this quick.

So I heard that one of your guys

got injured on a call last week

and needs to have shoulder surgery.

He'll be out on disability for four to six months.

Is that right?

Pension Board website.

I hope this doesn't feel like an overstep.

I was hoping that you would consider

bringing one of my candidates on to fill that temporary spot.

You're trying to put a probie on my rig?

Well, they're not probies after today.

And I guarantee you... they're more than ready.

I would not be here if that wasn't the case.

You're really going the extra mile for them, huh?

What do you say?

If I never scrub another stove,

it'll be too soon.

At least it's not toilets again.

Yo, y'all better get used to it.

We're going from probies to newbies.

Fresh meat still gets all the worst chores.

Hey, Hollis.

Why don't you come find me when you're done, all right?

-We can talk some driving. -Will do.

-Hey, Burke. -What's up?

I think you missed a spot.

Got it.

Hey, hold on, Vasquez. You got a sec?

Yeah, what's up, Cap?

I know you've been in there working

with, uh, Kidd on the probie train.

You got a read on them?

Jansen's eager... good attitude, teachable.

Hollis...

Hollis is a perfectionist. Does everything by the book.

What about Burke?

I mean, I know the two of you got into it a while back.

Yeah. On a personal level, not really a big fan.

Kind of rubbed me the wrong way from the day he got here.

But I will say, man, he's got great instincts.

What he lacks in discipline,

he more than makes up for in grit,

which isn't something you can teach,

at least I don't think.

Way I see it, Burke is a high- risk-high-reward kind of guy.

-Thanks. -Yeah.

So, how'd it go with your mom?

It was...

I don't know. It wasn't what I expected.

-Is everything okay? -Yeah.

Yeah, everything's fine.

Squad 3, Ambo 61.

Still and box alarm. 6 West Hamlin.

We got to go.

What's the situation, Chief?

48's making a push on the fire.

It's confined to the 14th floor.

There's two victims on the delta side,

beyond the fire line.

-Aerial can't reach 'em. -No interior route?

We're trying to make one, but we're running out of time.

Still got roof access via the south stairwell.

Help!

Up here!

-Help! -Please!

Up here!

Tony, find an anchor point. I'm going over.

Copy.

Victim closest to the fire first.

Then I'll come up for the second.

Hey, hang on! Coming to get you!

Help!

Just hang tight.

We got to move quick, guys.

That smoke's got to be pushing 800 degrees.

Boss, we got a problem.

There's no good anchor points up here.

Capp, wedge yourself between the parapet and the bulkhead.

Tony, Hollis, throw your weight against him.

Burke, throw a harness on. You're gonna be their eyes.

Jansen, go down to 13.

Get access to a window directly below the victim.

Copy.

-You good? Let's go. -Yeah.

More slack!

More line.

Another 5 feet... he's almost at the victim.

-Hold! -Hold.

All right, buddy, don't look down.

Just look at me.

Just step out. I got you.

Come on.

Let's go.

You're good.

-Yeah. -Over here!

Hurry, please!

Help!

We got to move.

Squad 3, we got new fire penetration

in the south stairwell... we've lost roof access for now.

Stand by while we get reinforcements up there.

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

Hey, I can't get past the fire floor

till they get more lines in place, and we can't wait.

Someone else has to go for the second victim.

Copy.

Either you have belay experience?

Only at the academy.

I'll go over the edge.

I'm already harnessed in.

You got this. Stay in control.

Secure the victim with the girth wrap

and lock in the strap.

I'm good to go.

Burke's going for the rescue.

I'll meet him on 13.

Keep your feet wide and flat.

Copy that.

Good to go.

Keep control, space steady.

I'm almost there, just a few more feet.

Little more.

It's okay. It's okay.

All right, there we go.

Hey, hey, come on.

-You can do this. -I can't.

-Grab on. -I can't.

-Come on, you can do this. -I can't.

No, no, no, look at me. Look at me.

Don't worry.

I got you.

Okay, let him go!

Yo, and it's crazy.

And... and it feels like you're twice as high up there

when it's just a skinny piece of rope holding you, bro.

Dude, I thought I was gonna have a heart attack

just watching you.

Hey, man. Was that you on the rope?

Oh, uh, yeah.

Damn. I'm jealous as hell.

You looked like Jason Bourne up there.

I mean, it does get your heart going,

but, you know, being on the rope is the easy part.

It's really the guys that's holding it

that really deserves all the shine.

Yeah, my training officer thinks all probies are good for

is schlepping traffic cones.

Yeah, I guess we got pretty lucky pulling 51

-as our last rotation. -Yeah.

Guess that's why the last open spot's

going to one of you guys.

-"Last open spot"? -What are you talking about?

You guys hadn't heard?

There's only one spot left, and everybody's saying

it's going to a candidate from 51.

-Hey, how'd the call go? -Fine.

Well, if you guys want to talk about it,

you know, or anything, I'm... I'm here.

-What's the matter, Herrmann? -Nothing.

Just when I was starting to get to know the kids,

now they're leaving.

Yeah, but all you did was complain about them being here.

I don't like change, that's all!

I figured, you know, at some point,

I would get a chance to teach them a few things.

What's the good of all this experience

if you don't get to pass it on?

-It's not too late, you know. -It's their last shift.

It doesn't get much later than that.

Hey.

"Man in the Mirror" is only five minutes long.

And that song... it changed my life.

What the hell does that mean?

I'm just saying, use the time you got.

Wow. That's... that's a lot.

You know, I came up with so many crazy theories

about why she was trying to get in touch with me.

I didn't even think that...

I am so sorry, Vi.

I'm so pissed off at her...

still.

And it feels awful, but I can't help it.

I know how this is gonna sound, but this whole thing...

just her showing up

and telling me her diagnosis, it's like...

it's like she knows that I can't stay mad now,

and that's pissing me off even more.

Wow, that is... that is really messed up.

No, not at all.

It has got to be so...

confusing and weird.

I-I wouldn't know how to feel either.

She said that she has less than a year left.

I don't know what I'm supposed to do with that.

Okay, well...

one thing I know about you...

is that you don't run from the hard stuff.

This morning I was worried

about landing some sleepy-ass job.

Now I might not have a job at all.

Out of the frying pan, into the floater pool.

Man, hell, nah.

This ain't right. The hell we moping for?

Jansen, pick your chin up, man.

We're about to walk out of here as firefighters.

Whatever happens out there, can't nobody take that from us.

And, anyway...

one of us is leaving here with a permanent assignment.

Whoever gets it...

better for damn sure make us proud.

We live together, and we die together.

-Hell, yeah. -Bet.

Hey.

I was just coming to find you.

So I just got a call from Lieutenant Reed at 67.

Turns out Jansen did his first rotation there on engine.

She didn't put it together

until she heard about your double-rope rescue today.

And?

She agreed to bring Jansen on while her guy is out.

-That's great. -I know.

But now it's just between Hollis and Burke.

So what's your recommendation, Captain?

Check it out.

Here we go.

Lieutenant Maletski trusted me

to fill the open spot on his rig.

And you guys did not make it an easy decision.

But we thought it over carefully,

and we decided to recommend you

to join Truck Company 73.

Thank you, Lieutenant.

Captain.

You earned it.

You ready to work your ass off, Hollis?

Put all of Lieutenant Kidd's training to good use?

Yes, sir, Lieutenant.

In that case, welcome to Truck 73.

It's been a movie, bro.

-See you at Molly's. -All right.

Hey, Jansen?

Give me a second.

Congratulations. Got you out of house.

Yeah?

Hey, now.

Welcome to the club.

Now we can teach you the real secret handshake.

There's no secret handshake.

Congrats, you guys.

Man, I don't know what we're gonna do without you

cleaning the bathrooms.

Hey, we cleaned the dishes pretty well, too.

No, but, seriously,

you guys... you guys are gonna crush it out there.

All right, drink up, fellas.

On the house?

Ah, don't make a thing out of it, Johnson.

-This is a one-time deal. -It's Jansen.

Thanks, Herrmann.

Hey, this is an exciting time for you boys.

You got your whole career in front of you.

So, hey, here is to the best job in the world.

But I got to tell you, you're gonna take a real beating...

inside and out.

I sure as hell know that I have.

Were you driving a rig out the gate?

It took a few years,

you know, mostly because of what happened the first time

-I took the wheel. -What happened?

Ah, catastrophe would be an understatement.

Picture this.

I'm blasting down Western

doing 65 miles an hour into oncoming traffic.

My captain yells at me, look out, Sherman!

He doesn't even know my name yet.

Anyway, I look to my left,

and there is this little old lady.

And she's inching her way into the street.

I yanked that wheel

like it's the tiller on the damn "Titanic."

I heard how things shook out.

I bet you did.

I'm not here to twist the knife.

I just want to say, I'm sure you'll find something.

Guys like you always do.

Kidd's looking for you.

I might extend that.

There he is.

Hey.

Take a load off.

How's it feel?

Not that different yet.

Listen, Burke...

Hey, respectfully, Lieutenant,

you don't got to explain yourself.

No.

As your training officer,

I want you to know it had nothing to do

with your skills as a firefighter.

It was my winning personality, huh?

We just felt that Hollis was a better fit

for this particular lieutenant's leadership style.

That's all it was.

Wow.

Uh, it stings a bit, I'm not gonna lie.

But don't worry about me, Lieutenant.

I...

I've survived far worse than a floater pool.

I'ma be all right.

I know you will.

And I promise that I'm not gonna stop trying to find

the right house for you.

It won't be no 51, though, that's for sure.

Did you go viral yet or what?

Oh. Oh. Not even close.

But we did raise all the money for the joint-duty initiative.

-That's what's important. -That's... that's awesome.

-Hell, yeah. -I know, right?

Yeah, it's too bad Violet's not here to celebrate.

-I mean, where is she? -I don't know.

I haven't... I haven't heard from her.

Is she okay?

Okay.

I take it her mom showing up

kind of threw her for a loop, huh?

Yeah.

Family's got a funny way of doing that.

Tell me about it.

Oh.

Oh, is that... is that karaoke guy?

Yeah, but his name is Bryan now.

-Mm. -Oh, he's calling me.

-BRB. -Yeah, go.

Hey. Yeah.

Violet.

Is everything okay?

-Where did that come from? -No more questions.

Mm.

Whoa. Hey. Thanks for the hand.

No problem.

Did you know that Jansen is related to Ryne Sandberg?

Second cousin, twice removed.

-No. -Oh, yeah.

Once you know it, you can see the resemblance.

I'm glad I got to spend some time with those guys tonight.

-They're good, aren't they? -Yeah.

-Yeah, they're good kids. -Eh.

Damn good.

And all three of them... you know,

they might even be better than we were at that age.

Hey, Burke!

Hold up.

Hey, Captain, do you need something?

Meet me at the academy, 7:00 a.m.

Tomorrow you start training for Squad.

I...

I-I don't understand.

I want you on my rig.

But... it's...

-I mean, is that even allowed? -You let me worry about that.

You worry about making sure that you're up for the challenge.

It's gonna be my neck on the line.

I-I'm ready for anything, Captain.

No, you're not.

But you will be.