13x18 - Post-Mortem

[bunniefuu]

You think that I got

what it takes to lead this house?

Boden practically
knighted you as his successor.

I don't even think Herrmann
wants to be chief,

even if he doesn't realize it
yet himself.

I need to take some time away.

I worked my whole life for this job.

I don't wanna risk losing it.

I'm proud of you, Carver.

I know people thought
I came back too soon

after Monica, but I needed to be here.

We're frontliners.

We run toward the danger,
not away from it.

All firefighters
evacuate immediately.

- Let's move!
- Let's go!

Move it!

Battalion 25 to Main,
we got a firefighter down,

critical condition.

Hey, I thought you were off
to a birthday party.

You listening to the radio?

No, just got off the phone.
Why? What's going on?

There was a house fire in the West Loop.

A roof collapsed,
and a firefighter was inside.

He's being rushed to the hospital now.

Which firehouse?

What's the update?

They just took him back to the OR.

Do the doctors know
what they're dealing with?

Possible compression fractures,

internal bleeding, respiratory burns.

He's fighting for his life right now.

How's the firehouse holding up?

- As well as you'd expect.
- Where are they now?

I told them to go get cleaned up.

They'll be back before
he's out of surgery.

Commissioner Grissom called
on the way here.

I'm gonna need you
to gather the officers.

Tell them to meet us at the firehouse.

Okay?

Lawmakers met today,
but the budget

is still yet to be approved.

Now to the scene of a house fire

overnight in the West Loop
neighborhood of downtown Chicago.

Firefighters managed to rescue
the family inside,

but one firefighter was
left critically injured.

Officials are still unclear
as to what started the blaze.

Any update?

No, it's still touch and go.

How the hell did this happen?

I don't know.

We cleared that house.

You know, what the hell
are we doing here?

If Pascal is looking for any answers,

I don't have any.

He didn't ask for you.

I did.

Look, I know you'd much rather
be at Med right now.

I'll get you back there
as soon as I can, but...

This can't wait.

What is going on?

Commissioner Grissom has requested

I run a post-incident analysis
on the West Loop fire.

The commissioner?

Yes, he wants a critical assessment.

Now, he has done this before,

when a firefighter
gets severely injured,

or when the fire scene goes south.

In this case, it's both.

By assessment, you mean report?

It's an investigation.

I'm gonna need statements
from each officer

individually, including the chief.

Is Grissom looking for
somebody to blame here?

They wanna know what went wrong.

That's not a no.

I will do what I can
to protect this firehouse,

but to do that, I need to know exactly

what happened out there.

I know you'll do what you can,

but let's be clear,

if the CFD is calling an investigation,

then someone here
is gonna be held accountable

for what happened last night.

Captain Herrmann.

Now, we really gotta do all this?

Yes, I'm afraid we do.

Unless you can explain
to the committee exactly

what happened after
the emergency evacuation?

No, sir, I cannot.

Well, I have to.

So we are gonna talk through
the incident,

beat by beat, from the beginning.

Yeah.

I have the call coming in at 2104.

- Sound right to you?
- Yeah, it does.

What were you doing at the time?

Uh, I was cleaning up.

Hey, all good there?

Yeah, I just didn't sleep
at all last night.

Otis has a fever.

I'm running on fumes.

That's what coffee is for.
Just aim better than I did.

Oh, you know, I thought I was done with

the sleepless nights
after the whole baby part.

Yeah, well, I have not had
a decent night's sleep

since Lee Henry was born.

Yeah, Severide and Kidd have no idea

what they're in store for.

God help them.

They don't have a clue.

Damn, I'm just making the stain bigger.

Squad 3, Truck 81, Engine 51.

Did you notice Cruz was flagging?

Cruz seemed fine to me.

Apparently he hadn't slept
the night before.

Like I said, he appeared fit for duty.

If he didn't,
I would have sent him home.

Look, if this is about what happened

- with Cruz on the call...
- Let's not jump ahead.

Go back to the alarm.

You said you were finishing a report.

Still at it?

Yeah, I gotta get it done.
You need something?

Yeah, you hear of this technical
ropes course at the academy?

Uh, yeah, Kaffee teaches that, right?

- He's good.
- So you know him?

I could use a recommendation.

There's not enough action for you here?

The more, the better, you know?

I guess it just runs in the family.

- You clear it with Herrmann?
- Yeah.

He said it's cool, as long
as it doesn't interfere.

Doesn't have to be a letter
or anything like that, does it?

I got enough paperwork as it is.

I think a phone call is good.

- Get me his number.
- Copy that.

Thanks, Kelly.

Squad 3, Truck 81...

Remind me, Carver had been
gone from 51 for how long?



This was Carver's first shift back?

Yes.

How were you feeling about that?

I was looking forward to it.

CFD floaters are great,
but I wanted my company back.

Carver's furlough, what was the reason?

It was personal.

I had heard rehab was a lot of talking.

They weren't kidding about that.

That can be a good thing, though.

No, it was.

Helped make sense of some
things I've been dealing with,

brought some other stuff into focus.

It was the right move.

Well, we are happy to
have you back in rotation.

Violet and Novak are bummed to miss you,

but they're pulling a shift over at 90.

Huh.

- I'll catch 'em next time.
- Mm-hmm.

Hey, will you let Ritter and Mouch know

that Chief wants to see us
after breakfast?

- Will do.
- Great.

Hey, how's it been?

I mean, with Chief, since...

Complicated.

Anything I can do?

He just wants everybody
to do their jobs.

Well, I'm more than ready for that.

Good.

Did you have any concern
about Carver's

fitness for duty?

No.

He'd been gone for a month.

Well, he'd been on furlough before,

and he had no trouble jumping back in.

And Lieutenant Kidd seemed
to think he was ready.

And you just took her word for it?

No, I had her run drills
with the whole team

- so I could see for myself.
- And?

She was right.

And that's where you were
when the call came in?

Watching drills?

No, I was in my office,
approving equipment repairs.

- Yeah.
- Hey, Chief.

Damon made spaghetti if you're hungry.

I'm good.

- Anything else?
- Uh, yeah.

You know Davis, third shift Engine guy?

Okay.

I ran into him during shift change.

He said they've been seeing
a lot of you around the office

the last couple weeks.

Well, this may come
as a surprise to both of you,

but I do work here.

Well, he only mentioned it because,

technically, you're off-shift then.

Yeah, work's been keeping me
from getting home.

Sure. Makes sense.

Okay, then. I will leave you to it.

Mouch.

Can you tell Davis
not to concern himself

with the hours I keep?

- Hmm?
- Yeah, Chief.

Squad 3, Truck 81, Engine 51.

The call came in at 2104.

It was all-units, 410 West Randolph.

We were there by 2109.

Going to work!

Get those people back. Make some room!

I saw flames rolling out of
multiple first floor windows,

heavy smoke pushing from
the chimney and the attic.

So the basement and the first
floor were already fully involved.

We had minutes, maybe.

What were your orders?

Chief?

What happened next?

Everything went to hell.

- Sir!
- Yes?

The Marshalls live there.

- I didn't see if they got out.
- How many?

Two parents, two kids.

Hold on!

Help!

Help!

It was 2110 now.

The jumper was confirmation
enough for me

that the family didn't make it out.

You were told it was a family of four?

Yes, which meant there were
three more still inside.

Engine 51, run a hose line to the fire

and hold it down until
we clear the upstairs.

- Copy that.
- Let's go!


basement fire from the rear.

Copy!

Squad 3, primary search on two.

- Don't overstay your welcome.
- Copy that.

You heard him, let's move, Squad.

Truck 81, vent, enter, and search

from the bravo side and delta side.

Copy that, Chief.
Let's get those ladders up.

Copy that.

Battalion 25 to Main, I need a still

and box alarm and an EMS Plan I.

Copy, Battalion 25.

Chief gave the order,
vent, enter, search.

I told Mouch and Ritter
to go to the delta side.

- Carver was with me.
- You split up your team?

We knew we had small rescue potential.

We had a lot of ground to cover.

So you attack from both sides.

Gives you more time.

Except I got waylaid.

Lieutenant, he said
his brother's still up there.

Hey, hey. Stop, stop.

I couldn't get to him!

- Please, you have to!
- It's okay.

Tell us where he is.

Back bedroom. He's in his crib.

- Please!
- Hey, we're gonna get him.



And now we knew
there was a baby inside,

as if every second didn't already count.

And Pascal was on you about it.

That's kind of his style.

For you or for everyone?

I don't know,
I can't speak for the others.

Then don't.

Speak for yourself.

Things have been tricky since you left.

But he wasn't wrong.

We were losing time,

and we weren't the only ones.

Engine was having problems?

Yeah, we shouldn't have been.

I mean, we led out, we were ready to go.

We were just waiting for water, and...

- It was chaos out there.
- Chaos how?

Well, it seemed like
the whole neighborhood was out.

We had EMS coming in
from every direction.

We had interference on the radio.

I was yelling to send the water.

Doherty couldn't hear me.

And to top it off,

we did not have traffic control yet.

Let's move.

Son of a b*tch.

You gotta be kidding me.

Hey! Move your car, idiot!

What happened?

The rubbernecker stopped
on the damn hose line.

PD, where's our traffic control, huh?

- Units en route.
- Go!

Let's go. Doherty, send me some water!

Copy that!

It was 2111.

Engine 33 was attacking the
basement fire from the rear,

but we hadn't yet started
our primary search and rescue.

You were waiting on Engine 51.

Squad couldn't get in
until they cleared a path.

Jack Damon, he hadn't
worked on Engine before.

He had, as a floater.

No, before that,
under Gregory, under Kidd,

his experience was primarily on Truck.

You put him on an Engine.

Well, I wouldn't do that
if I didn't trust

Damon could do the job.

And the family connection?

What about it?

Well, you brought him back,

knowing that he was Severide's brother,

- Kidd's brother-in-law.
- You hired him first.

I didn't know.

Well, you knew about Kidd
and Severide's relationship.

You let them work together.

This isn't about me.

This is about the call,
whether the family element

had an effect on it.

Well, I'm not the person
you should be asking.

Damon wasn't an issue.

Firehouse 20 kicked his a*s,
made him stronger.

He could stand on his own now.

And I knew that Herrmann
would take care of him.

So you weren't distracted?

Worrying about Damon? No.

That's not why this call went sideways.

Then why did it?

I can't tell you why.

But I can tell you when.

For us, it was the moment
we got to that second floor.

Hey, Chief, Squad's heading
to the second floor.

Copy, Squad 3.

Tony, Capp, you guys
take the alpha side.

Cruz, you're with me.

Copy!

Cruz!

Cruz!

Cruz, do you copy?

Cruz!

It's 2112 now. 81 has ladders up.

Engine 51 and Squad 3 had
just entered the premises.

What's the condition of the fire?

Angry.


at least for the time being.

You finally caught a break?

No, that's when we lost Cruz.

Get that crowd back right now.

And I want Randolph closed at both ends.

I don't wanna have to ask you again.

- Yes, sir.
- Cruz, do you copy?

Cruz?

Cruz, what's happening?

I couldn't...
I couldn't breathe in there.

- What's wrong?
- I don't know.

Cruz, you all right?

Yeah, something's wrong with my tank.

Damn, your regulator is frozen.

Squad 3X to Squad 3, we have
two victims unconscious.

Need some help up here.

Head back inside. I'll take care of him.

Oh, Chief, no, I'm good, I swear.

- I just need a new tank.
- Well, get it fast.

Carver and me were on the bravo side,

and Ritter and Mouch

were on the delta.

Squad had ID'd two victims,

but they still hadn't found the baby.

Carver and I
entered the second floor

on the bravo side.

Carver, baby's room
should be on the left.

- Copy.
- Go!

Carver, you copy?

Carver?

Sorry, hands were full.

Okay.

Hi, sweetie. All right. Hey.

Sweep the room, then follow me down.

Copy.

He was alive,

but his breathing was shallow.
He was lethargic.

He needed to be treated right away.

Carver took him to the medics?

No, I did.

As soon as I hit the ground.

Medics!

He needs oxygen now.

We got him.

Truck 81X to Truck 81,
we need someone

to heel our ladder on delta.

Hey, copy that, Mouch. I'm on my way.

How many victims
were still inside?

Two.

Tony and Capp were in
the primary bedroom here

trying to extricate an adult male

who had fallen under some debris.

And you and Cruz?

We'd just made it back inside.

This way.

Lieutenant!

Damon?

Herrmann sent us. What can we do?

Check the attic down the hall.

- Move!
- Copy!

Hey, Lieutenant, I got
another victim in here.

Cruz and I pulled an adult female

from the second bedroom.

And Clarence and Damon,
they went up to the attic?

Yeah, they never made it.

That's when the floor gave way,
and one of them fell.

Chief called for
the emergency evacuation

at that point.

I yelled out to Damon and Clarence

to get the hell out, and that was that.

And you're sure you counted
six men up there?

Tony and Capp, me and Cruz,
Damon and Clarence.

That makes six.

Six went up and six came down.

I counted them myself.

Show me.

Yeah, well, me and Damon,

we posted up here in the front room.

I could see everybody come and go.

Squad was first.

Severide says Damon was upstairs

on the second floor with him.

Yeah, he was, but not at first.

We have another victim.
Could use a hand.

Captain!

All right, go! You too!

Clarence, follow him!

Why split up
Clarence and Doherty?

Because Damon had
search and rescue experience,

but it doesn't really matter
because those two

got booted out
just as fast as they went up.

Because of the evac order.

Yeah, Chief thought
it was time to call it.

But you didn't.

You thought you had more time.

- I don't know, maybe.
- Maybe.

Maybe if there'd been more time,

there wouldn't have been
a firefighter left behind.

Maybe you would have
given that extra time

if you were chief.

But I'm not chief.

I'm glad I didn't have
to make that call.

I made the call.

It was time to evacuate.

Had they cleared every room?

You know they hadn't.

Do you think if you had more time...

There was no more time.

Captain Herrmann seems
to think maybe there was.

It doesn't matter. He's not chief.

Unless that's what this post-mortem's

really all about.

I'm just doing what
the commissioner asked.

Or you're worried that
I'm gonna put up a fight

when Herrmann makes rank,

so this is your way of pushing me out.

That has got nothing to do with this.

All I'm after is the truth.

Well, the truth, Deputy,
is if Captain Herrmann

was standing where I was,
he'd have been able

to see that we were
already on borrowed time.

The structure was failing.

Flames were blowing through the roof.

I sure as hell wasn't gonna stand there

and let my men get buried
under two stories of rubble.

It was time to call it.

Emergency, all firefighters
evacuate immediately.

Herrmann, hold your position
until all firefighters

have cleared and then back out.

Copy that.

Chief, what's the update?

We've got one jumper
from the second floor,

three rescues.

I just called an emergency evac.

I'm about to order a personnel
accountability report.

Six in and six out, Chief.

Copy that. PAR to follow.

Looks like you got
everyone out just in time.

Someone's still inside.

It was 2113.

DDC had just arrived.

I had deck g*ns standing by,
ready to go defensive.

I'd just received confirmation

that all the firefighters were out.

Then I heard the mayday.

One of our own had been left behind.

And we knew how dangerous it was,

but it wasn't a question,

we were going back in to get him.

I knew it was gonna be Squad first,

with Kelly leading the way.

Doesn't matter how many times
I've watched him do it,

it never gets easier.

But that's what we signed up for.

So we raised the aerial, Squad went up.

Kelly disappeared.

Capp!

He was in bad shape.

We knew there was internal
bleeding from the collapse,

but then I saw his mask
got knocked loose.

There was smoke in his lungs.
We didn't know how bad.

We just knew we had to move fast.

We put him in the Stokes,
flew him down the aerial,

loaded him up in the ambo,

and the whole time I'm thinking,

how the hell did this happen?

Six went up and six came down.

I swear to you, we never would have left

if we knew somebody was still up there.

I know that.

Can you prove it?

'Cause this is the kind of mistake

the white shirts want
somebody's head for.

And I'd prefer that
it not be any of ours.

I will do my best.

Dismissed.

Chief.

I feel like I'm waiting for the jury

to come back with a verdict.

We gave our statements.
Nothing else we can do.

Except second-guess everything.

Including the emergency evacuation?

I wasn't questioning your order.

I just thought that
maybe we had more time.

Maybe we did.

We'll never know.

Someone had to make the call.

I know.

And like I told Boden,
I'm glad it wasn't me.

You wanna be Chief, that's the job.

You have to make the calls
nobody else wants to make.

And you live with the fallout.

Because at the end of the day,
when you're in that seat...

It's on you, no one else.

Remember that.

Yeah, just let him know
that I'm wrapping up.

Yeah. Thanks.

Lieutenant.

I said something earlier.

- I don't feel good about it.
- Okay.

I told you that things
with me and Pascal were tricky.

I shouldn't have said that.

It... it doesn't matter.

What matters, what... what is important,

Pascal is a very capable Chief.

He's shown up for everybody
here, including me.

I know that he has my back,

and I hope he knows that I have his too.

I appreciate you saying that.

I just needed you to know before you...

you came to any conclusions.

I already have.

Will you get the others to
meet me in the briefing room?

Yes.

What happened last night

was every firefighter's worst nightmare.

One of our own was left behind.

The question is, how?

Truck 81 was ordered to
vent, enter, and search.

Lieutenant Kidd
supervised her team

on the bravo and delta sides.

Truck 81X to Truck 81,
we need someone

to heel our ladder on delta.

Hey, copy that, Mouch. I'm on my way.

Lieutenant Severide led
the primary search and rescue,

saving two victims on the inside.

Come on!

He accounted for six
firefighters on the inside

before being evacuated.

Emergency, all firefighters
evacuate immediately.

Herrmann, hold your position
until all firefighters

are clear and then back out.

Let's move!

Captain Herrmann was ordered
to track every firefighter

in and out of the front entrance.

Six in and six out, Chief!

Herrmann's math was correct.

I'm confused.

I don't understand.

If six came down,
how was someone left behind?

There weren't six firefighters
on the second floor.

I believe there was seven.

Who was the seventh?

Carver.

Herrmann sent Damon and Clarence up.

All right, go!

Clarence, follow him!

Severide gave them their orders.

What can we do?

Check the attic down the hall.

Lieutenant Kidd said that Carver

had been ordered to retreat.

- That's when the floor...
- Down the hall!

- Gave way.
- Copy!

Carver saw Clarence go down,

and I think he did
what any one of us

in this room would do.

He went in after him.

But that's when Pascal
gave the emergency evacuation.

Emergency, all firefighters
evacuate immediately.

Severide looked down the hall.

He thought he saw Damon and Clarence,

but one of those firefighters
was Carver.

When the floor gave way,

Damon and Clarence got separated.

Damon didn't realize Clarence
fell through the floor.

And Clarence didn't realize
that Damon had moved on.

You thought no one
had made it to the attic.

Someone had.

Six in and six out, Chief!

Hey. You got yours?

Okay, so what happens now?

I present my findings to the committee.

They'll make their judgment.

What is it?

Damon's out of surgery. He's awake.

- That's great news.
- Go.

I'll update you when I have something.

Thanks, Chief.

I'm coming with you.

Is that a request?

This is my firehouse.

If the CFD's looking
for someone to blame,

I wanna be the one they see.

Fair enough.

After you.

This guy has an attic fall in on him,

and he's still better looking than me.

It's good to see your face.

It's good to be seen.

Hey, so take your time, you rest up.

Your spot's not going anywhere.

Okay.

We'll give you guys a minute.

What'd the doctors say?

They said I got really lucky,

that it could have been a lot worse.

Yeah, they're right about that.

There was evidence of
lung breakdown in my X-ray.

They won't know how extensive
until I get a CT.

What if it's bad, Kelly?

Hey.

Hey.

They got treatments.

I know guys who never
came back from this.

I know guys who did.

Look, whatever happens, we'll...

we'll figure it out together.

We've reviewed the documents
you've provided

from the West Loop fire...

dispatch logs, after-action reports.

A lot of detail here,
but not a lot of answers.

What we need, Deputy, is clarity...

specifically, how this fire went wrong

and who's responsible.

We're hoping you can
provide that to us today.

I believe I can.

This call was unique
in the worst possible way.

It was the kind of call where everything

that could go wrong did.

And as a result,
a firefighter was left behind,

which is tragic, but the only blame

to be laid here is at the fog
of the fireground.

I'm sorry, Deputy,

but we're gonna need more than that.

Look at the reports.

They tell the story.

Radios had interference.

Crowd control arrived late,
equipment failed.

The structure was barely holding.

It was 1,300 degrees inside.

Visibility was down to zero.

But despite all that,
Firehouse 51 saved four lives,

mounted a successful rescue
on borrowed time.

Now, that can only happen
when every firefighter operates

at the highest caliber

and when there is
a strong leader at the helm.

Tough decisions had to be made

under immense pressure and on the fly.

Having reviewed the incident,

I can say with absolute certainty...

I wouldn't have done it any differently.

Chief Pascal and his officers
made all the right calls.

Hey, you just missed him.

He's off for tests.

So, um, we got news?

We do.

Committee was unanimous.



I thought somebody's head
was gonna roll.

Well, once I walked them
through the call,

they understood.

This was nobody's fault.

How the hell you put that
all together is beyond me.

You think of calls
differently when you're Chief.

You'll see.

If that's still what you want.

Uh, come on.

The rest of the crew is
gonna wanna see you.

Oh, here he is.

Nice move.

Just got off the phone
with Commissioner Grissom.

Oh, so you heard the decision?

I did.

He wanted me to know that the
investigation wasn't personal.

It was just... just protocol.

Yeah, well, protocol or not,

it never feels good to have
the finger pointed at you.

Well, I appreciate
what you did back there.

All I did was tell the truth.

Keep up the good work.

Thank you.

I'll make sure that you do.