10. Sacred Ground
Following right where “I’m Not Leaving You” left off, the heartbreaking season eight premiere “Sacred Ground” reveals a shocking tragedy, with a long-time firehouse stalwart dying in the line of duty, the victim of a fire started in the previous episode. In the action-packed opening, a massive fire forces the company to attempt escape, with one man getting caught in a floor collapse just as a boiler explodes.
Rushed to the hospital, the company can do little but wait for news, and it’s not good. In a shocking twist, the episode flashes forward a whole three months as the company is only just recovered from the loss of their comrade but is also still dealing with the ramifications of the tragic events that day. But with the time that has already passed, the team may finally be ready to welcome some new members to Firehouse 51.
9. A Dark Day
Part one of a two-part crossover event with “Chicago P.D.,” the second season episode “A Dark Day” depicts a tragedy ripped from national headlines. The episode opens with a team-up of the two crews in a charity event held outside the city hospital. Just as the race gets underway, disaster strikes when a bomb detonates, ripping through the hospital. When the dust settles, it’s all-out chaos, with victims everywhere dead or dying.
But as the P.D. and F.D. get to work, it becomes clear that this isn’t the end of the danger, as they suspect the culprit may have more explosives hidden elsewhere. Together with the two teams of Chicago’s finest and bravest work together to aid surviving victims, prevent further catastrophe, and catch a killer.
8. Real Never Waits
Season premieres and finales always get high marks for their dramatic turns, and the Season 2 finale, “Real Never Waits,” is no exception. Longtime fans will remember this as the first meeting between Mouch and Trudy, which leads to a season-long courtship. However, even more noteworthy is Chief Boden’s marriage to Donna. Meanwhile, Gabby passes her firefighter’s exam but is disappointed by her transfer to Firehouse 105 in Austin.
There’s no time for lamentations, as a call sends the company to a massive fire at a boarding school, where they check every room for victims. Severide is disturbed when the crew discovers a dead body in one of the rooms he looked at, troubled over whether he could have saved them had he done things differently.
7. I Am The Apocalypse
In a backdoor pilot for the new spinoff “Chicago Med,” the Season 3 episode “I Am the Apocalypse” guest stars Nick Gehlfuss as Dr. Halstead, Yaya DaCosta as April Sexton, S. Epatha Merkerson as Sharon Goodwin, and Oliver Platt as Dr. Charles. It all starts with a catastrophic chemical leak that brings Firehouse 51’s best to the scene, who unfortunately all wind up at the hospital.
The doctors spring into action, working furiously to save the injured, and must quarantine the company out of fear they might have an infectious disease. As the crisis unfolds, it becomes an outright disaster when one of the victims reveals himself as a suicide bomber.
6. The Last One for Mom
Severide’s blossoming romance with Detective Holloway was one of the high points of Season 3, especially the relationship he forged with her young son JJ. However, in “The Last One for Mom,” it all came to a screeching halt in one of the most gut-wrenching episodes of the entire series.
While keeping an eye on JJ at the Firehouse, Detective Holloway is shot on her way to testify at a trial. They try to distract JJ while his mother is in surgery, but she soon dies of her injuries. It’s up to Severide to break the news and make sure JJ makes it through the ordeal as best as he can. Severide isn’t alone, of course, as everyone at the firehouse comes together in the wake of the heartbreaking tragedy.
5. Deathtrap
Part one of a highly publicized three-part crossover, “Deathtrap” would be followed by episodes of “Chicago P.D.” and the short-lived “Chicago Justice.” Beyond those follow-up chapters, the episode also includes most of the cast of “Chicago Med.” The story begins when the company is called to a massive fire that breaks out at an abandoned factory used as a living space where a large party is being thrown. With countless people trapped inside, the situation becomes personal when Olinsky, a character from “Chicago P.D.,” realizes his daughter may be at risk.
As dozens of victims are pulled out and rushed to the hospital, firefighters and doctors alike are working harder than ever. However, when the crisis abates, it becomes clear that the fire is no accident, and the Chicago P.D. may have an arsonist on their hands.
4. Telling Her Goodbye
Fans think of “Chicago Fire” as an action-centric series, and “Telling Her Goodbye” shows exactly why it gets that reputation. Otis remarks that there’s a gangland turf war in the neighborhood, and the members of Firehouse 51 hear gunshots just outside almost immediately. Before long, the company is under siege from gang members looking for help for their injured comrade, and they’re not asking nicely. Despite the less than polite approach, Boden insists they help the man.
Soon Severide and Stella — alone in the locker room when the commotion began — hatch a plan to take back the firehouse from the criminal hostage-takers. But will their plan to call for help wind up doing more harm than good?
3. Carry Me
The Season 5 episode “Carry Me” is another emotional heartbreaker with another tragic loss. The episode opens with Severide refusing to accept Anna’s dire situation. He gets a good distraction when he responds to a house fire where a woman refuses to leave her home. The woman is going through her own struggles and the pair trade stories. She reveals that having recently lost her husband, she can’t stand the thought of losing her home, the last remnant of their life together.
Helping her recognize when it’s time to let go, Severide has a moment where he understands that he needs to do the same. Meanwhile, Casey and Boden work to save Kendall’s career after a disciplinary panel, but it seems the beleaguered firefighter doesn’t actually want their help.
2. Going To War
In the second episode of Season 7, we got the first big crossover event of the year, the first part in a three-part story — capped off with episodes of “Chicago Med” and “Chicago P.D.” — and it all lived up to the hype. It was all hands on deck in “Going To War,” as all units are called to the scene of one of the biggest fires seen yet when a monumental skyscraper is engulfed in flames.
A fire of that scale in a structure that size posed all kinds of problems for Firehouse 51, and before you know it, it is revealed to be something more than an accident. Once again, the emergency becomes personal when Halstead tells Chief Boden that his father lives in the building. This episode isn’t for the faint of heart, as it includes some of the most disturbing imagery of the season as tragedy strikes in the blaze.
1. My Miracle
The Season 5 finale “My Miracle” will leave you on the edge of your seat from start to finish, and this one’s a cliffhanger, too. First, both truck and squad are called to the scene of a car trapped teetering on the edge of a bridge, and there’s a child inside. After saving the kid, Hermann forms a bond with the young boy through their shared love of baseball.
However, nothing can prepare them for what comes next, as a massive building fire gets out of control, forcing Boden to order his crew out. When Mouch is stricken with a heart attack, and Herrmann and Severide are trapped inside with no escape, the episode abruptly ends, and we’re left to wonder who’ll survive to the next season in one of the absolute best episodes of “Chicago Fire.”
