Chicago Fire

Episode Reviews

Oct. 8, 2025 – S14, E2: “Primary Search”

Paramedics try to get to the bottom of separate patients with suspiciously similar injuries. Veteran firefighter Stella Kidd tries to wrangle a new rookie, Sal Vasquez, who has a mysterious past. And other firefighters at Firehouse 51 deal with personal drama at home.

Firefighters respond to a fire in a junkyard. One firefighter aids a man struggling due to smoke inhalation while another picks up a flaming gas tank and carries it to where the hoses can douse it before it explodes. The firefighters succeed in putting out the fire.

Paramedics bandage a woman who appears to have been stabbed in the stomach. Though she’s lost some blood, they’re able to get her the help she needs. Later they tend to a man with a cut arm. He also claims it was an accident, but his wound is similar to the woman’s (both were exposed to capsaicin, a chemical in peppers).

Police say they can’t investigate the similarities without more evidence, so the paramedics do their own digging. Upon further questioning, the first stab victim admits she and her brother, who has severe mental health troubles, got into an argument that grew physical. The paramedics convince the woman to let them put her in touch with doctors who can help her and her brother.

Stella tries to discipline Sal for putting his life at risk during a fire. Both firefighters are stubborn, but they seem to reconcile their differences. Stella and her husband foster a 14-year-old boy while his mom is in the hospital. (We hear that she was hit by a car and suffered head trauma.)

Sal verbally threatens a man for mocking him. The guy tries to apologize later, but Sal refuses to listen. We learn Sal’s dad is in prison.

A firefighter tries to increase profits at his bar through “shrinkflation,” intentionally selling smaller glasses of beer for the same price. He winds up buying a round of drinks for his customers when they complain. He lies to his business partner about the incident, but they reconcile. Some women drink wine after work.

We hear a man’s boyfriend, who is a cop, was shot in the line of duty. He flies to New York to be with him. We see an unmarried couple sleeping in bed together, sheets covering their private areas. A married couple kisses.

A man seemingly prays before a meal. Someone wears a cross necklace. We hear the term “speak of the devil.”

God’s name is abused, paired with “d–n.” We hear that latter term elsewhere, along with “h—” and “ballsy.”

Feb. 17, 2021 – S9, E7: “Dead of Winter”

The men and women at Firehouse 51 dash out to douse a fire at a homeless encampment; an exploding propane tank nearly takes down Cruz, who’s expecting his first child with his wife. He’s leery of telling her about his close call, though, not wanting to worry her. But the rest of the firehouse has a bigger problem on its hands: The fire may have been intentionally set—and with an eye toward murder.

A man suffers some bad, bloody burns on his chest. He’s nearly unconscious when he’s taken away from the fire. In the hospital later, he’s clearly in pain. Cruz’s own injury amounts to just a bloody wound on his cheek, but a fellow firefighter says the shrapnel nearly “Ned Starked” him (a reference to a famous decapitation scene in Game of Thrones). Later, someone describes the potential lethality more clinically, telling Cruz that the shrapnel was just an inch away from his carotid artery. A man’s hand and arm get crushed by a tombstone. (The guy’s broken forearm is graphically obvious beneath his skin.) Blood is seen on the ground below. Someone dies offscreen. We see fires rage and people blown back by explosions.

After paramedic Sylvie Brett breaks things off with Capt. Matthew Casey, she meets a new potential beau. Another couple smokes cigars outside the firehouse as the ex of one walks on by, and one plots to appear more dangerous to keep his lover’s interest. A homeless girl insinuates that homeless shelters are dangerous places for women.

People drink beer and mixed drinks. Two characters admit to feeling nauseous from the cigars they’re smoking. We hear a reference to an overdose. A guy admits to losing $300 in a poker tournament. Someone tells his wife that she was pretty rude to a plumber, and that her “profanity was off the charts.” As for profanity that viewers hear, that’s sequestered to just a smattering of swears: one use of “a–,” one of “d–n” and three of “h—.”

Nov. 21, 2012 – S1, E7: “Two Families”

It’s Thanksgiving at Firehouse 51, but Chicago won’t let the guys eat. Instead they’re dodging bullets in a shootout and saving a couple of downed gang members. They rescue a family from a deep-fried turkey gone crazy—but not before the garage fire takes out a snowmobile and family members get into a fistfight. They patch up people involved in a multicar pileup, including a guy gushing blood from his neck.

That’s outside. Inside, we see Casey and Hallie in bed together, obviously having sex. Severide desperately tries to evade a drug test; Shay eventually gives him her urine (in a cup) to give to the inspector. We see Severide pop a powerful narcotic. We hear a reference to crack. People drink shots of whiskey.

A teen calls Brody a “b‑‑ch.” We hear other curses, too, including “h‑‑‑” (four or five times), “d‑‑n” (twice), “p‑‑‑” (once), “a‑‑” (once), “b‑‑ch” (another time), a use of “frickin'” and an aborted s-word (along with a reference to “BS”). God’s name is misused.