Firehouse 51 isn’t just responding to a call close to home this week, it’s responding to a fire inside the home of one of its own.
In Wednesday’s episode of “Chicago Fire,” when the team receives a call about a fire at Herrmann’s address, they race to the scene in a frenzy. While driving over, Herrmann tries to reach his wife and kids, but is mostly concerned with getting in touch with Annabelle, who had stayed home from school that morning.
Once they arrive, Herrmann rushes through every room of his home, which is completely engulfed by now, calling out for his daughter. Meanwhile, Cindy arrives outside, telling Severide that Annabelle had actually decided to go to school; nobody was in the house. Severide relays the information to his crew inside, giving Herrmann some time to finally allow the circumstances to set in: His family’s home is burning down along with all its memories.
He doesn’t want to give up without a fight, but the fire is too strong. An explosion is imminent, and the team stands down. After leaving the scene, the firehouse springs into action: Mouch finds a place for Herrmann and his family to stay, and Stella and Severide round up some essentials to share.
The devastation has some unexpected consequences, too. Stella and Isaiah become even more distant after the boy empathizes with Herrmann’s kids in a way his foster mom can’t understand. He knows the emotional toll a tragedy like this can have on a boy his age. Meanwhile, the whole thing brings Severide and Isaiah even closer together as they investigate the cause of the blaze together.
Elsewhere, Violet and Novak face some hurdles in starting up their trainings for the firefighters to help out the paramedics. Herrmann was supposed to help them lead the lessons, but now they’re stuck with a needle-phobic Capp. And, of course, their first call is to an acupuncture studio — when it rains, it pours!
The episode ends on a happier note, with Herrmann delivering the wedding ring of his mother-in-law to Cindy. This would’ve been a romantic moment, but we’re really too busy ‘shipping Mouch and Herrmann’s friendship; it was Mouch who found the heirloom in the wreckage.
What did you think of the emotional “Chicago Fire” episode? How will Herrmann and his family recover from this tragedy? Scroll down for a recap of “Chicago Med” and “Chicago P.D.”, then hit the comments with all your #OneChicago thoughts!