S05.E14: Purgatory

[WendyCR72]

After exercising his disdain and authority over Chief Boden, Chief Anderson reassigns members of 51 to various houses around town, citing the need for improvement. The ramifications are felt by the crew, who are left to make the best of their respective situations in their new surroundings. Boden fights to repair the situation, but it just might be out of his control. Elsewhere, Severide toils over an important decision.

[SuzieQ]

Love this show and it was a nice diversion tonight after a teary This Is Us, BUT, so tired of another story arc with someone out to mess with Boden.  Glad they shut that down relatively quick.  Would still love to see Chief Anderson get bounced out because of some scandal.  It hurts to look at his ugly mug! :)

Edited February 22, 2017 by SuzieQ

[LittleIggy]

The Chief is my favorite character, and I think Eamonn Walker is as sexy as hell.

I said to myself "Hope the guy the Chief saved is a deputy mayor"! :-)

[Sandman]

Wow. That kitchen accident was WAAAAY beyond my squick limits. Ghee-ross!

[SuzieQ]

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

The Chief is my favorite character, and I think Eamonn Walker is as sexy as hell.

I said to myself "Hope the guy the Chief saved is a deputy mayor"! :-)

My post was referring to Anderson, not Boden.  Just edited to make more clear.  I like Boden too.

[Dowel Jones]

Have some salt and pepper with your foot, Otis.  By the way, is his nickname still Otis at the new house? Because there's probably another Otis there already.

Casey.  Did you see those lieutenant pins on your shirt?  You are the boss.  Firefighters don't take time out of training to go "warm up".  And I hope those guys all did that drill until it was slick, instead of dropping Buster on the cement.

As large as my disdain for Gabby looms, I did have to laugh at her move in the restaurant.  Too bad the deputy mayor wasn't having lunch over there before going to the hotel.  That would have been a good meeting afterward at the firehouse. 

They took the easy way out with the candidate saving snarly old Capt. 27.  He just about hanged himself over an EEO beef in that kitchen confrontation. 

You think they'll have a scene with Ass. Chief Anderson walking into Molly's?

[NJRadioGuy]

How does the real-world CFD lend their name, uniforms and apparatus to this show any more, when they constantly disrespect the profession at every single damn turn. I was angry enough to shit live hornets after watching all the incompetents (except the super-hot Candidate, of course) depicted in the various houses. If I were on the job in Chicago I would be sickened to see how they depict the companies. If that chief's regular men didn't see that backdraft about to happen none of them belong in the fireground.

From the eye-rolling department, part the first: Cruz and the other Squad guy (forget his name) going to dispatch. Right. Because they've now mastered CAD, call-prioritizing, probably call-taking and slipped past the union in an hour. Dispatchers around the country, you may now pick your jaws off the floor and put your headsets back on, K.

Eye-rolling department, part the second: Remember those Haligans and axes that can pop actual steel doors in seconds? Yeah, they don't quite work so well against hollow wooden doors with simple latches, which is exactly what they were. And a ballroom that size in a major hotel without multiple fire exits, each equipped with up-to-code panic bars? What would have worked, plot-wise, would have been we find out that DDC Anderson signed off on an inspection of that hotel knowing it had no panic bars, sprinklers, alarms and smoke detectors, and it not just gets him fired, but arrested and indicted as well. And how the hell can the entire sprinkler system be out of order? It's pretty damned basic. If necessary, feed into the FDC siamese and let 'er rip; the heat would trigger the heads and all you'd need is pressurized water in the line.

Part the third: The floor is solid marble, yet there's a sharp, delineated line of heavy fire sprouting all around it. Didn't the writers ever watch the Flintstones growing up? Joe Rockhead's Volunteer Fire Department: Everything's made of rock, it can't burn!. Sheesh.

Part the fourth: Half a dozen ladder companies and two engines, with two hose lines on a serious working fire. And there's Otis handling a 2-1/2 on his own. Protip: Glenmorangie single malt Scotch hurts as it exits one's nasal cavities.

For readers without a passing understanding of fire vehicles, the very very general rule of thumb is 2 engines (aka "pumpers" in Canada) for every truck company (aka "aerial" in Canada). At a typical big-city one alarm fire you'd see 4 or 5 engines, 2 or more likely three ladder companies, a squad and/or heavy rescue and a Battalion Chief. Subsequent alarms would likely call for an additional 4 engines, 2 trucks, more white helmets and special units. Lather, rinse, and repeat as the alarm level rises. For that hotel job, assuming Boden's the first on scene, he's calling at least a second alarm, if not a third, with smoke showing. Then with heavy fire discovered and entrapment, a fast escalation to 5 or 6 for manpower. So I would expect about 20 engine companies (with 4 or 5 firefighters on each), roughly 10 truck companies, two heavy rescues and various white helmets. Including Anderson, who--frighteningly--could wind up as the CO for that job as a deputy district chief on a multiple alarm level. I was frankly surprised he wasn't.

Edited February 22, 2017 by NJRadioGuy

[Dowel Jones]

31 minutes ago, NJRadioGuy said:

Cruz and the other Squad guy (forget his name) going to dispatch.

When I came out of the field and into an ECC, I went to a 4 week academy first, just to learn the computer end of it.  Then there's Policies and Procedures, call taking, and actual voicing out practice dispatching.  And I was going to a relatively slow wildland unit.  My BC would have ripped me for gabbing like that during a dispatch.  I realize they couldn't possibly get in to film in the CFD command center, but that prop ECC was a bit small for a city that runs 500,000 calls per year. 

32 minutes ago, NJRadioGuy said:

Half a dozen ladder companies and two engines, with two hose lines on a serious working fire.

I backed up and listened to the voice out again, and it was 4 ladders, 2 squads, and 1 engine.  Whaaaat? For a commercial structure?  Another thing is, ladder units also have a pump and plumbing, so they could have hooked up to a hydrant and ran hose right off any of the trucks. 

Sorry about your nose.  You want I should call Gabby or Brett?

[NJRadioGuy]

2 minutes ago, Dowel Jones said:

I backed up and listened to the voice out again, and it was 4 ladders, 2 squads, and 1 engine.  Whaaaat? For a commercial structure?  Another thing is, ladder units also have a pump and plumbing, so they could have hooked up to a hydrant and ran hose right off any of the trucks. 

Sorry about your nose.  You want I should call Gabby or Brett?

Brett, please. Not that I'd trust her to treat it, but it would redirect blood flow and take my mind off the pain :) Then get me over to Med so I can talk over the psychological trauma of my Scotch-burned honker with Reese. Preferably in Mollys later, with more Scotch.

As for the response, WTF, why not just hook into the FDC, pump up to 150psi and let the laws of physics take over. Or are there no sprinkler systems in UnicornLand™ Chicago?

[Dowel Jones]

I think they did mention after entry that the sprinklers weren't working. 

[NJRadioGuy]

Just now, Dowel Jones said:

I think they did mention after entry that the sprinklers weren't working. 

Yeah, they did. What's not to work? Steel pipes, independent brass heads, a pump mechanism with a shutoff valve, and a connection to a water supply. Ain't rocket surgery.

[MakeMeLaugh]

I've never seen it but that hotel was the old South Shore Country Club, now the SS Cultural Center, a gem on the South Side. So beautiful.

Yes NJRadioGuy the portrayal of virtually all the outside 51 people was incredibly insulting to the actual CFD.  I don't think there are firefighters anywhere allowed to be as heavy and slobby as some of the non-51 men on this episode. Everyone was such a cartoon character this episode. Including Boden. Much gnashing of teeth there yet so ineffective at restoring 51 until he yes indeed got lucky in personally rescuing the deputy mayor. Another wrongly persecuted Boden thread put paid to. And Anderson has carte blanche to totally disrupt the system? Capp and Cruz to Dispatch? His superiors are that powerless against him?

That Gabby--such a burr up her butt in the restaurant. Maybe using the kitchen entrance would actually have been better for the fingerless guy (sure, parade an injured man on foot through a crowded room) but she don't care, she's Gabby. I enjoyed her temporary partner and would love to see more of him.

That Severide, seriously considering Springfield. Not. Not even the governor lives there anymore. We already knew you would stay. (ETA I just drove through Springfield on Sunday and nothing against it, but a Chicago native like Severide isn't moving there for a job he could work toward in Chicago without a really good reason, and Anna doesn't seem to be it.)

So all the loose threads are quickly tied up, ready for the most dramatic four-way crossover episode ever next week!

Edited February 22, 2017 by MakeMeLaugh

[FnkyChkn34]

I was going to comment on the other firefighters as well.  That is very disrespectful, and can't possibly be true that only Chief Boden's beloved house has the smart, in-shape, dedicated firefighters and that every other house in the city has lazy, overweight, incompetent firefighters.  Those guys that joined Severide on Squad - are you kidding me?

The episode would have been much more likable if the other houses weren't so laughably awful.  It would have been fine to show the other houses as nearly the same as 51, with competent, dedicated firefighters.  It would have made for a better story, in my opinion, if they all just sort of fit in and weren't acting like children begging Boden to do something.  Although the episode was entertaining enough for an hour, it wasn't nearly as good as it could have been.

And of course it was all wrapped up at the end with a pretty little bow...  It would have been more interesting had the separation storyline lasted longer than one episode.

One question - what is Gabby's title?  She wasn't called PIC, but she was allowed to stay as one of the three officers in place?  She was called RBM or something?

[iMonrey]

Quote

As large as my disdain for Gabby looms, I did have to laugh at her move in the restaurant. 

Yes, but - while the restaurant owner/manager was certainly being a dick about it, there was no reason to parade that poor guy through the restaurant and flaunt his injuries to the paying customers. They didn't do anything wrong, and I'm pretty sure the accident victim would have preferred a little privacy as well! He's got to be embarrassed, having cut off his fingers, if nothing else. So basically, Gabby is just an asshole. (In case you didn't already know.)

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How does the real-world CFD lend their name, uniforms and apparatus to this show any more, when they constantly disrespect the profession at every single damn turn. 

That's what I want to know as well. I'm sure most fire fighters don't watch this show, for the same reason real doctors don't watch Grey's Anatomy. It's so unrealistic it would probably drive them crazy. But the CFD is a real entity, and you have to wonder what they think of this show portraying people in authority as utter morons, incompetents and jerks. This episode did not make the CFD look good, at all.

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And Anderson has carte blanche to totally disrupt the system? Capp and Cruz to Dispatch? His superiors are that powerless against him?

I know, right? Wouldn't randomly re-assigning all the crews to different stations raise a few red flags? Surely he had to give someone a reason for doing that, you don't just disrupt every station in the city for no good reason, right? And couldn't every single member of station 51 go over his head and protest? They all know this guy just has a vendetta against Boden because Boden embarrassed him. They were all witness to it. The whole thing seemed unreasonably absurd. "Sorry, Boden, we're powerless to stop this guy! Even though everyone knows he's wrong and you're right! He's omnipotent!"

Luckily this show tends to wrap up even the biggest shake-ups in one episode. 

[Calamity Jane]

Thank you all for bringing out the points that were driving me NUTS during this episode.  I have never seen a group of firefighters with so many goofy-looking tubs of lard as they showed all the non-51 guys being, and the incompetence they portrayed was breathtakingly insulting.  Almost every scene also had something that would probably have been reportable in my job (teacher!), but noooo, nobody says a thing except in the corner under their breath.  In addition, I cannot believe that anyone has the authority to start randomly re-assigning crews all over without some form of oversight.  It's hugely disruptive and an obvious risk to public safety. Either they have the wimpiest union ever or the worst administrative structure ever, or both, and that's hard for me to buy for an organization as large as CFD.  It just made this whole episode beyond ridiculous (which is something to say about a show that is ridiculous on a weekly basis).  I am perplexed why every single season we have to have a Boden-in-peril story line, and now more is threatened.  At this point, I'd be thinking he's the common denominator in all these problems, but we're supposed to accept that bunches of people just pick on him for no reason whatsoever.  Enough!   

[FnkyChkn34]

4 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

One question - what is Gabby's title?  She wasn't called PIC, but she was allowed to stay as one of the three officers in place?  She was called RBM or something?

I've tried to answer my question, and according to the Google, there is no such thing as whatever Boden said in the real Chicago system.  So I don't know. :-)

[NJRadioGuy]

And with Mouch as the Union rep, I'm surprised the grievances weren't flying back and forth so fast they'd need to hire off-duty controllers from Midway to handle them all.

This all started with Anderson putting his and another company's men in grave peril when he was incident commander. Thus he's still in the field and not at a desk full-time (which I find laughable in and of itself, but stick with me here). Easy enough to follow him around when you're off-duty, recording every event, just waiting for him to screw up, and catch it all on video. And as I mentioned in last week's thread, I'm also handwaving away the fact the two emperiled crews haven't called him out on his actions and formally reviewed the call with the real brass.

[Dowel Jones]

Boden introduced her as FPM Dawson.  I assume that means Firefighter Paramedic, in charge of nothing but the ambulance, but we all know the score.

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

So basically, Gabby is just an asshole. (In case you didn't already know.)

Yeah, precisely.  I in no way approved of her actions (VERY unprofessional) but it was kind of funny from the firefighter point of view.  Sometimes you wish you could just dump on somebody in a very public way, but there's always the Career Dissipation Light flashing in the back of your mind.

 

11 hours ago, NJRadioGuy said:

Yeah, they did.

And maybe the deputy mayor should have a conversation with the Fire Department Inspectors, too.  That was completely negligent maintenance.  Hopefully they're under Chief Anderson's umbrella.

[dreamcatcher]

Tbh I think that nobody should be watching shows like Chicago Fire expecting a realistic portrayal and if they did try to be more realistic, it wouldn't really be enjoyable. But I do want them to at least handle the storylines they use time and time again in a different way. For example, the captain who hates females; we've seen that already in one form or another. Having the candidate filling a complaint against the captain would be way more satisfying for me, since no one is ever getting into trouble for being a sexist ass in this show. Or they could have the firefighters managing to fight back instead of having Boden saving the day again. At the very least they could do another episode with everyone being in a different post and THEN do what they did in this one.

But I did like Hermann going off on Boden because really, it's always his fault and they are the ones who have to pay for his actions while he's still the Chief so somebody had to get mad at some point. 

[FnkyChkn34]

31 minutes ago, Dowel Jones said:

Boden introduced her as FPM Dawson.  I assume that means Firefighter Paramedic, in charge of nothing but the ambulance, but we all know the score.

Then how did she get to stay?  Because Chief Anderson said last week only officers remain in place, all others reassigned.  She was given special Gabby treatment, yet again?  If Anderson really wanted to punish the house and those in it, he'd have split up the married couple...

[NJRadioGuy]

44 minutes ago, dreamcatcher said:

Tbh I think that nobody should be watching shows like Chicago Fire expecting a realistic portrayal and if they did try to be more realistic, it wouldn't really be enjoyable.

You can compromise a little and have it immensely satisfying. I re-watched the entire 7 season run of Emergency! last year and the firefighting and rescue techniques they displayed were still very enjoyable to watch, even with 1970s values and absolutely horrific storytelling in the B-plots of each stand-alone episode. You never saw the blood and guts, every rescue victim just had a broken bone that could be splinted or a coronary problem, no ODs, amputations or messy trauma events, but the rescues were pretty awesome and you could tell the love and respect that the crew and the showrunner (Ron Cinader) had for the LACoFD in that era. The department was honored to have them representing them at the time. Additional crews that had no lines or worked with the *real* 51 were friends, colleagues, professionals and worked wonderfully with them. In fact, the engineer and one of the firefighters were actual LACoFD firefighters in real life (Mike Stoker and engineer Marco Lopez). To this day, people visit station 127 in Carson (where the exteriors were filmed) and the crew gives them tours of the station, which hasn't changed all that much in 46 years!

So yes, it's possible to depict firefighting and the FD respectfully and still have some pretty cool drama. The idea is to care about the lives of the men and women on the job. To see them in high-risk situations, political situations, etc, while doing the job right wouldn't take that much more effort to do right. You can still ship Character A and Character B, but without making every single FF outside of the featured house to be a total incompetent, malcontent or douchecanoe.

Edited February 22, 2017 by NJRadioGuy

[dreamcatcher]

28 minutes ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

Then how did she get to stay?  Because Chief Anderson said last week only officers remain in place, all others reassigned.  She was given special Gabby treatment, yet again?  If Anderson really wanted to punish the house and those in it, he'd have split up the married couple...

I'm not sure what Boden called her but I guess she is supposed to be the senior paramedic so she is considered an officer or something like that? I didn't mind that because Gabby staying was probably the reason why we saw so little of her in that episode.

[FnkyChkn34]

33 minutes ago, dreamcatcher said:

I'm not sure what Boden called her but I guess she is supposed to be the senior paramedic so she is considered an officer or something like that? I didn't mind that because Gabby staying was probably the reason why we saw so little of her in that episode.

True, and she was given Chout (or whatever his name is) as a partner, so that was good punishment.  Brett's partner seemed to be the most normal of all of the replacement guys.

Edited February 22, 2017 by FnkyChkn34

[Waterston Fan]

New here because the IMDB message boards shut down and I was too slow to make a new account.  I used to be Wardfan1 over there if anyone from there is here. 

I thought this was an okay episode, just thought some of the stuff about the replacements were lame. The guys who were at 51, I cannot believe the FD would allow lazyasses like them still on duty. 

I think Brian just tired those guys out with his stories but I think he was also bored. 

I think we all knew 51 would be together eventually. 

[FnkyChkn34]

34 minutes ago, Waterston Fan said:

New here because the IMDB message boards shut down and I was too slow to make a new account.  I used to be Wardfan1 over there if anyone from there is here. 

Same for me.  I have the same name as I did there.

[Pallada]

16 hours ago, Waterston Fan said:

 

New here because the IMDB message boards shut down and I was too slow to make a new account.  I used to be Wardfan1 over there if anyone from t

 

Welcome to this forum, Waterston Fan and FnkyCkkn34! Hope, more peeps from the IMDb boards will join us here :)

this episode was incredibly predictable! I had a bet with a couple of fellow CF fans about how soon truck and squad teams will be back at 51. One of my friends assumed they'd drag this SL till the end of the season, another one thought it will be wrapped in the next eppy but I just knew it will be over by the end of this episode. What was the point of it?! To show us how awesome Chief ZbodenBoden is? How professional and dedicated 51 crew is (good-looks no too ;)) as compared to other FHs? That's ridiculous!

[Pallada]

18 hours ago, NJRadioGuy said:

you could tell the love and respect that the crew and the showrunner (Ron Cinader) had for the LACoFD in that era. The department was honored to have them representing them at the time. Additional crews that had no lines or worked with the *real* 51 were friends, colleagues, professionals and worked wonderfully with them. In fact, the engineer and one of the firefighters were actual LACoFD firefighters in real life (Mike Stoker and engineer Marco Lopez). To this day, people visit station 127 in Carson (where the exteriors were filmed) and the crew gives them tours of the station, which hasn't changed all that much in 46 years!

Didn't you know that it's the same on CF? The engine crew are all real life firefighters from Chicago Fire Department Engine 18? The firehouse is a filming location for ChicagoFire (even though now the show has exact same stages at Cinespace Film Studios). Some of the viewers complain from time to time that the engine guys are mostly invisible and have no line. That's the reason why. They're are not actors...chief Walker whom we saw in this episode is played by the retired chief Steve Chiketotis. He is hugely respected both by the firefighters and by the cast and crew. He is also their technical adviser and the source of most stories (many of them happened with him and/or his friends)...Oh, and Tony Ferraris - Tony, the Squad 3 driver - is a real FF too!

[Sandman]

On 2017-02-22 at 2:25 AM, NJRadioGuy said:

Protip: Glenmorangie single malt Scotch hurts as it exits one's nasal cavities.

Ha! Good to know.

I know nothing about the running of a fire department, and even less about the level of realism of the fire-fighting techniques demonstrated (or ... not) in the show, but it did seem unrealistic to me that almost the entire complement at 51 could be reassigned on a whim, without notice to the firefighters or the union. As the episode went on, it occurred to me that neither is it especially realistic for the team to be kept together for sentimental reasons; if the leaders and personnel of one house are so far-and-away exemplary, and everyone else on the job is marginally competent, isn't that an argument for spreading the wealth of 51 around the city? Get Casey and Severide to train the lunkheads, lazybones and floaters into competent performers. Break up the squads to share knowledge and skills. It's nice for dramatic purposes to show that the characters operate like a brilliantly engineered machine and they are happiest as a family, but, really? No one else in Chicago knows how to do the job? Yeah, no.

Anderson and his angry guinea pig face can go.

[MakeMeLaugh]

43 minutes ago, Pallada said:

Didn't you know that it's the same on CF? The engine crew are all real life firefighters from Chicago Fire Department Engine 18? The firehouse is a filming location for ChicagoFire (even though now the show has exact same stages at Cinespace Film Studios). Some of the viewers complain from time to time that the engine guys are mostly invisible and have no line. That's the reason why. They're are not actors...chief Walker whom we saw in this episode is played by the retired chief Steve Chiketotis. He is hugely respected both by the firefighters and by the cast and crew. He is also their technical adviser and the source of most stories (many of them happened with him and/or his friends)...Oh, and Tony Ferraris - Tony, the Squad 3 driver - is a real FF too!

Yes! I love that the background folks know exactly what to do--how to move and carry equipment--in the firefighting scenes because that's what they really do.

[athelyna]

The only part of this episode I liked was that Gabby wasn't reassigned - not because it made any sense but because at least we were spared an hour of her whining about the CFD having a personal vendetta against her and Matt.

Oh, and I kind of liked Boden's joke when the one guy came in and said nothing could be done, Anderson is just an angry bull and Boden was the red flag, and Boden pointing out the bull is usually killed at the end of the fight.  Though with his comment to Anderson at the end about how it's not just luck, I'm half expecting a big twist at the very end of the series where the reason 51 always looks so awesome is Boden is an arsonist who finds out things like when the deputy mayor is going to have a conference so he can set a fire and play big damn hero.

I agree with everyone how ridiculous it is we're supposed to believe everyone in the CFD not at 51 is incompetent, a moron, and/or a jerk.  I didn't understand the guys at Otis' new house just standing around at the big fire - wouldn't Boden have assigned their truck to do something?  I hated the whole sexist captain bullying the female candidate - I get the newbie being afraid to say something but doesn't the actual CFD have some sort of harassment reporting tool where Brett or Stella could make an anonymous report?  Would the CFD really let an entire house be reassigned and bring in all floaters who are apparently somewhat new to their positions for anything short of everyone in the house being arrested for some sort of criminal conspiracy or absolute gross negligence that gets a hundred people killed?  If Anderson is truly so awful and everyone above him knows it, why was he promoted in the first place?  Would it really have killed the tension so much if the sprinklers had come on or did the showrunners just not want to have to deal with extra water?  Did we even see Mouch's and Herman's new house?  Do we know for certain the people there were incompetent or was Herman just complaining because he missed 51?  Can sexist captain get in trouble for opting to waste time and energy kicking down and probably damaging doors rather than just using the master key?

Quote

Part the fourth: Half a dozen ladder companies and two engines, with two hose lines on a serious working fire.

I'm willing to suspend disbelief on stuff like the number of vehicles responding because the more vehicles, the higher the production costs, but agree on your other points.  Would it have killed them to at least try and say the reason they were focusing on that one unbreakable door was because all the others were blocked by flames or to say there were more trucks respoding, just conveniently unseen?

[FnkyChkn34]

36 minutes ago, athelyna said:

Did we even see Mouch's and Herman's new house?  

Mouch and Herrmann's new house was the same set as 51, just redecorated.  Remember how they moved the couch and Mouch thought that was the end of the world?  I think their new colleagues were the ones who were sleeping, too.

A thought on the number of trucks and hoses, and how Otis was the only one who took water to the fire - they can't put hoses on the fire from the outside from the trucks and ladders while people are still inside, both victims and the firefighters themselves.  So Boden couldn't order water yet until everyone was out.  I assume that's why Otis took one of the smaller hoses and went inside by himself alone; that's all anyone could do until it was clear.

[juliet73]

On 2/22/2017 at 9:09 AM, FnkyChkn34 said:

I was going to comment on the other firefighters as well.  That is very disrespectful, and can't possibly be true that only Chief Boden's beloved house has the smart, in-shape, dedicated firefighters and that every other house in the city has lazy, overweight, incompetent firefighters.  Those guys that joined Severide on Squad - are you kidding me?

 

I was so annoyed (more than usual) watching this episode because of the portrayal of the other firefighters.  I guess in the entire city of Chicago, 51 is the ONLY house that has a caring chief that takes care of his staff, in shape competent firefighters/EMTS, and everyone gets along like a family? All the other houses employ overweight, lazy, knucklehead losers that report to a-hole chiefs?  I hope if I'm ever in an emergency situation, 51 shows up,otherwise I'm dead.  This show is beyond ridiculous!!!  And if anyone should be split up, it's Casey and Dawson!  They should NEVER be on the same shift.  EVER! I'm glad this storyline is over, even though we'll see it again next season.  

[iMonrey]

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Tbh I think that nobody should be watching shows like Chicago Fire expecting a realistic portrayal and if they did try to be more realistic, it wouldn't really be enjoyable.

I think most viewers understand that all shows have to take some artistic liberties, but when the plots range from flimsy to absurd the show is asking too much of its audience, or underestimating it's audience, which in turn is insulting to its audience. Frankly I think Dick Wolfe has simply spread himself too thin with all the spin-offs and the mothership is getting the short end of the stick these days. But even way back in season 1, the personal, non-working stories were weak. It's odd because the action sequences are great, so it's like there's one set of writers for those, and the rest of the show is written by ex soap opera writers are are barely phoning it in.

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But I did like Hermann going off on Boden because really, it's always his fault and they are the ones who have to pay for his actions while he's still the Chief so somebody had to get mad at some point. 

That was my initial reaction too, until I thought about it and realized it wasn't actually Boden who was at fault, it was Anderson and whatever superiors over him who failed to see or care what he was doing. So Mouch (being union rep, if the show remembers that) should have filed some kind of formal protest on behalf of his members. Hell, everyone could have gone on strike and that would have gotten the media's attention real quick.

Quote

As the episode went on, it occurred to me that neither is it especially realistic for the team to be kept together for sentimental reasons; if the leaders and personnel of one house are so far-and-away exemplary, and everyone else on the job is marginally competent, isn't that an argument for spreading the wealth of 51 around the city? 

Not really, because it benefits no one - crews are dependent on their team work and cohesion. If you keep mixing them up you always have crews that aren't used to working with each other. If the crew at 51 is so far-and-away exemplary and everyone else is marginally incompetent, there's something seriously wrong with the other stations and/or the basic training of incoming fire fighters. 

[Dowel Jones]

2 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

So Boden couldn't order water yet until everyone was out.  I assume that's why Otis took one of the smaller hoses and went inside by himself alone; that's all anyone could do until it was clear.

In the real world, the engine crew would take hoses inside for an interior attack, while the others would be conducting search and rescue operations at the same time.  You're correct about the high volume exterior attack, though.  It would have been cool to see the aerial apparatus at work.  And no one should be going into a burning structure alone; most every department has something like a two-in, two-out rule, in which there is a backup team waiting at the entrance in case the two inside get in trouble.  They also have an accountability system which tells the Incident Commander where everyone is.  Now, if the IC goes rushing into the building, you have problems, but it does make for better tension on television.  This all may seem like a big time wasting organization, but many, many firefighters have been killed on structure fires because of poor organization outside the fire ground.

[spunky]

Writers thank you for not prolonging the whole chief over sensitive splits up 51story line. I like Chief Boden, but please find him a new storyline. I knew Kelly was not leaving 51 for anything in the world, especially a woman he was mildly infatuated with. I'm glad that 51was back together, but the show basically disrespected every other fire house in the city. Casey was quick to yell at every member of his team a few weeks ago because of his own personal life, but couldn't tell the floater to continue doing his drills. Can we get Cruz, Capp, Otis and everyone else a storyline?

[Kel Varnsen]

On 2/22/2017 at 1:09 PM, iMonrey said:

I know, right? Wouldn't randomly re-assigning all the crews to different stations raise a few red flags? Surely he had to give someone a reason for doing that, you don't just disrupt every station in the city for no good reason, right? And couldn't every single member of station 51 go over his head and protest? They all know this guy just has a vendetta against Boden because Boden embarrassed him. They were all witness to it. The whole thing seemed unreasonably absurd. "Sorry, Boden, we're powerless to stop this guy! Even though everyone knows he's wrong and you're right! He's omnipotent!"

Aren't rescue squad guys supposed to be exceptionally well trained. That is sort of what the established when Peter Mills was trying to get on squad. If that is the case, do you really want two highly trained rescuers working dispatch while being replaced with temps. Even if the other Chief is allowed to transfer people would no one really have a problem with that, 

9 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

A thought on the number of trucks and hoses, and how Otis was the only one who took water to the fire - they can't put hoses on the fire from the outside from the trucks and ladders while people are still inside, both victims and the firefighters themselves.  So Boden couldn't order water yet until everyone was out.  I assume that's why Otis took one of the smaller hoses and went inside by himself alone; that's all anyone could do until it was clear.

I honestly don't remember the last time I saw someone on this show spray water on a fire, unless of course it was at the end of the scene once the truck/rescue drama was complete.

Also if the thing at the hotel was some big fancy city government function with the deputy mayor, how come City Councillor Matt Casey had no idea about it? Wouldn't the deputy mayor basically be one of his colleagues?

[Sake614]

On ‎2‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 2:25 AM, NJRadioGuy said:

How does the real-world CFD lend their name, uniforms and apparatus to this show any more, when they constantly disrespect the profession at every single damn turn. I was angry enough to shit live hornets after watching all the incompetents (except the super-hot Candidate, of course) depicted in the various houses. If I were on the job in Chicago I would be sickened to see how they depict the companies. If that chief's regular men didn't see that backdraft about to happen none of them belong in the fireground.

 

THIS! OMG I was horrified by the depiction of CFD firefighters as fat, lazy, incompetent bums. There is no WAY that's anything close to an accurate depiction. If I were a firefighter, I'd be fuming. Does Dick Wolf secretly harbor some animosity toward firefighters? He's never shown cops or DAs this way on his shows, so why the firefighters?

I also didn't appreciate that it was all wrapped up in a nice, neat little bow by the end of one episode. It would have done them all a world of good to be assigned to other houses for a while.

[FnkyChkn34]

21 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Also if the thing at the hotel was some big fancy city government function with the deputy mayor, how come City Councillor Matt Casey had no idea about it? Wouldn't the deputy mayor basically be one of his colleagues?

Not necessarily.  At least in my city, council and the mayor's office are completely separate.  I didn't get the impression it was a big fancy thing, but more of just a lunch meeting maybe?  I think there were only about 10-15 people there?

Edited February 24, 2017 by FnkyChkn34

[iMonrey]

This episode could have worked better if Anderson had drummed up some kind of phony training program and convinced his superiors it benefited the fire fighters to work outside their comfort zones at different stations. At least then we don't have this red-faced buffoon bellowing at his superiors that he had a right to do whatever the fuck he wanted and nobody was going to stop him. That just made everyone over him look like helpless idiots.

But, even if they'd gone that route, the union would have stepped in and put a stop to it before it could ever have been put into place. It's undoubtedly going to be a hardship on someone having to drive three times as far as they're used to to get to work. And fire fighter unions are the biggest and most powerful in the country - you don't mess with them.

[Waterston Fan]

Did the guys at Otis' house get bored with his stories? Seemed kinda awkward or something with those scenes. 

[Kel Varnsen]

32 minutes ago, Waterston Fan said:

Did the guys at Otis' house get bored with his stories? Seemed kinda awkward or something with those scenes. 

They realized they were bullshit because on of the guys called him out on the fact that one of his stories was a squad 3 rescue (which happened on the show, the thing with the social media guy).

[juliet73]

3 hours ago, Waterston Fan said:

Did the guys at Otis' house get bored with his stories? Seemed kinda awkward or something with those scenes. 

Otis's stories were always him as the hero. The warehouse one happened to Casey. The power pole/social media guy happened to Severide. 

[Waterston Fan]

On 2/25/2017 at 9:38 PM, juliet73 said:

Otis's stories were always him as the hero. The warehouse one happened to Casey. The power pole/social media guy happened to Severide. 

Yeah, that's right. 

I have to admit, I wished they had come up with a better storyline for him. Maybe he helps clean the truck or something. I still think it was awkward.