It’s been a long wait for Chicago Fire to return, but here we are. It’s time to find out how Severide and Van Meter will get out of the fire that’s been started in the apartment building.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS from Chicago Fire season 14 episode 8.
There was a lot to cover after Chicago Fire’s season 14 fall finale. Severide and Van Meter were going to end up trapped in an apartment fire, while Pascal learned that Engine 51 would be decommissioned to save money for the city. And so, we jump straight back into those storylines.
We also get to see Violet and Vasquez, as Vasquez thinks about the job that he wanted to have. While being with the CFD is a good spot, it wasn’t his dream job, and now he’s dealing with what’s come because of his dad.
What happens in the apartment fire on Chicago Fire season 14 episode 8
Before getting into the apartment fire, we cut to Kidd and Isaiah, who are hanging out. Kidd tries to call her husband, but he’s too focused on his current situation: trying to help the principal of the school figure out who started the fire. As the smoke alarm goes off, they all find themselves trapped in the apartment, with fires on both stairwells. The only option is to find a way to rappel down via the windows.
When you’re in the middle of a fire, the one thing you want is firefighters with you. Severide and Van Meter are able to stay calm, as they make a harness and rope out of the bedsheets to get down the side of the building. Naturally, they get the principal out first, but as Van Meter struggles with the smoke, things get a little dicey.
Van Meter is caught in the blaze, but he’s able to propel himself down the side of the building. Severide goes last, and you know all eyes were on making sure they would all get out with no serious injuries. Fortunately, they get out of the building, and a neighbor is able to get the principal to the hospital. However, things aren’t looking good for Van Meter, who collapses on the ground once he knows everyone is safe.
Will Van Meter make it through?
In true Severide fashion, he is focused on Van Meter, and they all head to the hospital. He does manage to get a call to Kidd, who relays the information to Isaiah. It doesn’t take long for Isaiah to say he’ll pack his bags, because he knows that Kidd needs to get to Severide more than he needs to be near his mom right now, and I absolutely adore this kid.
It looks like Severide will be fine, but Van Meter is suffering at Med, with Archer looking out for him. If there’s a doctor you want on the case, it’s him. The bad news is that Van Meter took in a lot of smoke, and if his oxygen levels don’t regulate soon, he won’t make it through the night.
Of course, the entire 51 family is there to support both Severide and Van Meter. Kidd and Isaiah get there, with Severide making it clear that Isaiah needs to be pulled in for a hug as well. That smile makes it clear that he has found a second family. His mom is still important, but he feels welcome and accepted with Kidd and Severide.
Things are cut short when a cop turns up, though. Captain Gerard turns up, making it clear that PD isn’t there to take over. This is an OFI investigation, and PD is there to support. One step is to look into the Facebook group with all the hate for Principal Cole. PD is on it.
The hunt for the creator of the Facebook group
Violet and Novak chat all about Vasquez, with a lot of discussion about Ray. It turns out that Novak heard all about Ray back in the day, but this is just a side discussion for now.
The focus for this part of Chicago Fire season 14 episode 8 is Pascal letting Mouch know about Engine 51. The two will focus on saving the Engine. Not only would it mean Mouch is out of a job, but it would be an irresponsible step to take for firefighting. On top of that, Pascal is worried about Mouch’s future with the CFD, as there’s probably not a place for him at another house. The good thing about Pascal is that he sees the good in Mouch, and he’s not backing down without a fight.
Back at the hospital, Gerard has an update about the person who created the Facebook group, but there’s something strange going on before we can get into this. Students from the school turn up at the hospital, and it turns out that the assistant principal put together a group for support. Wyatt, the kid who was initially believed to be the culprit, wanted to be part of this support group. The plot thickens.
A girl called Lily was the one to create the group, someone who surprises Cole. While she’s had disciplinary issues, he’s shocked that she would do something “like this,” which is likely more to do with the fire than the group. We’ve seen Lily before. She was at Wyatt’s house during the Chicago Fire season 14 fall finale, and now it’s on OFI and PD to get to the bottom of this.
Things have taken a turn for the worse for Van Meter, though, leading to Archer having to put him into an induced coma. Things aren’t looking good for Severide, knowing that so many others haven’t come out of comas under these circumstances. My heart goes out to Severide as he struggles to deal with this.
Pascal learns the truth about decommissioning Engine 51 on Chicago Fire
Mouch is focused on getting the union to support avoiding losing his job, but there’s some bad news. While there’s documentation that shows the city will need “just cause” to fire Mouch, the city is now using the budget cuts as “just cause.”
Meanwhile, Severide and Gerard head over to Lily’s house to find out more about the Facebook group. There have been threats of violence, and Lily wasn’t going to go against people’s First Amendment right. Of course, she becomes the first suspect, and Lily’s mom seems to be forced into telling the police that Lily was home on the night of the fire.
The Facebook group isn’t going to be shut down, though. This offers a chance to find out who is behind the anonymous posts, but it’s not going to be easy.
Back at the city, Pascal heads to the man who originally asked for a favor to take in Vasquez, and now Pascal wants a favor to protect Engine 51. It turns out that the CFD didn’t pick the rigs, and it was the Mayor’s Office that made the decisions. There’s something Pascal wasn’t told on the night of the warning!
Back at the firehouse, while Violet goes through potential firefighters for her new program, Kidd goes to see Severide to share that Isaiah has a Zoom to talk about his mom’s care. Kidd is taking all that on, and she needs to, because someone was there to take a video of the fire.
Severide gets a step closer to finding out who started the fire
Herrmann walks into the officer’s quarters to find Mouch going through old reports, and that’s when he first finds out about Engine 51 getting decommissioned. This pulls another one into the appeal to save the engine.
With the video going up, Severide and Gerard head to the home of the kid, Malcolm, who posted it. Of course, Malcolm has made a run for it, going up to the roof rather than down to the ground. The good news is Severide gets to the kid, making it clear is all he wants is answers about who started the fire.
Back at Kidd and Severide’s place, I do have to question why Kidd thought that Severide was going to make the call with Isaiah on the Zoom. She already made it clear that she was handling it, and so, Kidd and Isaiah join the call. I know he said he wanted to be there, but she also knew this investigation was a major one.
At the firehouse, Violet and Novak carry out interviews with firefighters for their program. It’s clear that Violet is being picky about the firefighters wanting to join, and this could make it a bigger problem. She even has problems with the first name someone has been given. It’s almost like Violet wants the program to fail.
Meanwhile, Malcolm shows how dangerous social media is. He didn’t take the video and post it because he hated Cole. He posted it for clout, so he shares where he took the video. This leads to Severide realizing that they’re right by the street Wyatt lives at.
Can Engine 51 be saved, and will Van Meter pull through on Chicago Fire?
It goes back to the log of the Wi-Fi device, which rules Wyatt out completely. “The data doesn’t lie,” but it does if someone else is involved in tampering the evidence. At the same time, Van Meter has taken notes that suggest that it could be Lily — and only her mom corroborates her alibi. It’s time to do some more digging.
While they do that, Pascal heads to the Mayor’s Office. He breaks through all the lies that Annette has told, and it turns out that she thought that they could be a power couple for the city. Pascal isn’t backing down, though, knowing that Annette chose 51, thinking that he wouldn’t put up a fight. Well, he’s not playing ball.
Sure enough, Lily lied about being at home, but she wasn’t the arsonist. With Van Meter’s life on the line, Severide and Gerard need to figure out what they’re missing. There’s a little bit of information on the anonymous posters, and it goes back to Wyatt’s household. It was never Wyatt; Severide realizes that it was his dad.
Kidd also gets some good news, sharing that the prognosis for Isaiah’s mom is good. However, Isaiah wants to stick around for Severide. He’s a good kid, but Kidd is worried that Severide isn’t giving him any updates.
Those updates aren’t something to share, though. Right now, Severide and Gerard is looking into Wyatt’s father, who claims to have an alibi. The problem for Severide is that this has become too personal, and he can’t keep his emotions in check. Gerard delivers the bad news that PD is taking over the investigation. They need Severide to take a step back. He’s officially off the case, and we’ll need to wait an extra week to get answers about the fire.
Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.