20. Chopper
Season 3’s “Chopper” gives us a unique emergency as a helicopter crash leaves the title chopper hanging off the edge of a building. Over the course of the episode, the victims of the accident slowly lead the team to the cause of the emergency. It begins with the team being called to the crash scene and Severide rushing to save the lives of the pilot and his passenger. The scene expands when Otis and Hermann find that the chopper’s rotor has flown loose during the crash and pinned a woman down across the street.
While extricating the woman, they find a trail of blood leading them to another victim, a young boy bloodied and hiding in a shed, who confesses to accidentally causing the crash while flying a drone with his brother. The brother is in trouble of his own though, trapped amidst live wires after falling when the helicopter struck the building.
19. Spartacus
In the third season finale “Spartacus,” Severide and Casey are still not seeing eye to eye over Rice, with Casey accusing Severide’s former friend of being the cause of the problems at the firehouse. Tension continues to run high between the squad and the truck crew, which comes to a head on the first call of the episode before Chief Boden chastises them for their childish behavior. After catching Rice in a lie, however, Severide finally comes around and confronts him.
On another call, Gabby gets trapped inside a burning building, and it’s Boden himself who picks up a mask and goes in to rescue her, ordering everyone else to stay outside. With Severide inside helping Gabby stay alive, it will have to be another narrow escape if everyone is to make it out alive. As a season-ender, however, nothing is guaranteed.
18. The People We Meet
Season 5’s “The People We Meet” has Casey and Gabby continuing in their uphill custody battle with Louie’s biological parents, and it’s not looking promising. If they’re going to win, it’s going to be ugly.
Meanwhile, Severide agrees to donate bone marrow to Anna in a bid to save her life, but a leap out of a burning building puts the procedure in jeopardy. We also get another mini-crossover with Jeff Clarke of “Chicago Med” performing life-saving surgery on Severide. Mouch once again gets to play comic relief in a diverting subplot that breaks up the more bleak main stories with his attempts to put together a recruitment film with Otis’ help.
17. No Regrets
“No Regrets” sees Boden confronting the very real possibility that he may have lung cancer, as several other members of the squad he was a part of in 1985 have died of the same cause. Firehouse 51 is at risk of closing, and McCloud uses the issue as leverage to get the chief to retire early. When Boden announces his exit, the company is stunned, but a sudden siren call interrupts the proceedings and sends the company on a crisis call.
When the crew of Firehouse 51 arrive at the scene of a derailed train, they find dozens of injured passengers trapped near a propane tanker that got loose. Now with no backup, thanks to McLeod’s recent political gambits, they’re on their own to attempt a rescue and must work against the clock to get everyone out before the tanker explodes.
16. The Sky Is Falling
In the Season 4 episode “The Sky Is Falling” we learn that Chili wasn’t exactly honest about the reasons she left her last firehouse, and her solution to the problem only escalates things when she demands Boden give her a new partner. However, before that can be resolved, the Department of Homeland Security arrives to brief the team on a series of terror threats around Chicago. Recent intelligence has lead them to believe that someone is preparing for a major attack on the Windy City, and is attempting to divide and distract the city’s resources.
As Boden and Chief Hatcher debate what to do with Chili, a call sends the crew to a building where they discover an apparent mass shooter — or shooters — and plenty of victims trapped inside. But the company finds themself in peril too, and surrounded by smoke and under fire, they must fight their way to safety while avoiding fire from both flames and a violent gunman.
15. Nobody Else Is Dying Today
In another story of life and death, “Nobody Else Is Dying Today” has Casey working outside the firehouse and when he is caught in a deadly factory accident. An acid tank begins spraying harmful toxins, which forces Casey and a young woman named Laurel to hide inside a break room to escape the fumes. However, that’s only a stop-gap measure, as they’re not truly out of danger and must break their way through a neighboring wall to get to safety.
Unable to call for help and unable to create a passageway big enough for himself to crawl through, it’ll be up to Laurel to make it out and get Casey’s friends at Firehouse 51 to come to their rescue. Otis and Cruz provide the episodes with lighter elements as they attempt to out-prank each other.
14. Purgatory
The Season 5 episode “Purgatory” opens with most of the crew of “Chicago Fire” being given new assignments, all of which are away from their home at Firehouse 51. Stella and Sylvie find themselves at Firehouse 27, an apparent meat grinder of a company with a tyrannical leader in Captain Tipton. Otis tells his new company about his adventures with Firehouse 51, placing himself as the savior of every rescue.
Mouch and Hermann are sent to a nondescript house nicknamed Purgatory, a place where firefighters’ careers seemingly go to die. They don’t see many calls, and excitement is practically non-existent. Back at Firehouse 51, Severide is working with a new and inexperienced crew, who go out on a call and quickly illustrate why his old colleagues were such a special team.
13. The Chance to Forgive
One of the things that makes “One Chicago” such a unique franchise is the frequent crossover of characters, and Season 6’s “The Chance to Forgive” gives us a double dose, with Dr. Choi of “Chicago Med” and Detective Lawson of “Chicago P.D.” both appearing. In the episode, the company is called to a scene only to be met by violent gunfire. However, it’s not from a crazed gunman but from a stash of live ammunition in a burning household going off in the blaze.
Stella and Otis are hit by stray rounds, and Severide comes to the rescue, getting them out of harm’s way. Taking them to the hospital, Choi tells the crew that Otis is in critical condition with a bullet lodged close to his spinal cord.
12. What Will Define You
“What Will Define You” is a somber Season 7 installment that sees a farewell to Benny Severide, who died in the previous episode. While the family deals with the emotional fallout, struggling to process his death, Kelly is distraught that he can’t find an important medal that belonged to his father. Back at the firehouse, Sylvie is called to the scene of a car accident where a child is trapped in the wreck. But there’s more than meets the eye, and Sylvie is determined to get to the bottom of it.
As Boden and Kelly rally fellow firefighters to put together a proper funeral for Benny, Stella sets out on a mission to find the lost medal that may still reside with one of Benny’s many ex-girfriends. In the end, thanks to Boden and Stella, Benny gets the service they wanted for him, and Kelly has a chance to cherish a piece of his father’s legacy.
11. I’m Not Leaving You
Stella and Kelly continue their hunt for a serial arsonist from one of Benny’s old cases in season seven’s emotional season finale, “I’m Not Leaving You.” Working closely together, the pair grow closer again, and it seems they might be rekindling their past relationship. The question is, will it last this time? That’s not the only relationship that is rekindled either, as Kyle proposes to Sylvie Brett, and he gets a surprising “yes.”
The episode is lighter on the action than usual but sees an end to a bitter rivalry as Grissom finally steps aside and puts an end to the political games that caused so much turmoil all season long. With no shocking revelations or major tragedies, fans were left to wonder what disaster might strike in the following season.
