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Sound the alarm — Chicago Fire is hitting 250 episodes. The firefighter drama that kicked off Dick Wolf’s One Chicago franchise on NBC back in 2012 is still going strong in Season 12.
In a TODAY interview from 2021 — when Chicago Fire was celebrating its 200th episode — star Taylor Kinney attributed the show’s success to the “sense of family” and the “chemistry of the cast” that Wolf, an executive producer, helped cultivate. “People see the way we get along,” he said. “It’s a tight-knit group.”
But which episodes are the best of the best? Discounting episodes from the ongoing 12th season, the following installments comprise the top 10, according to average ratings from IMDb voters. (And many of these had tears flowing like water from a firehose!)
10. Season 5, Episode 16: “Telling Her Goodbye”
A hostage situation develops when gang members take shelter at Firehouse 51 and hold Boden (Eamonn Walker) at gunpoint. “The performances by the actors who play Kidd, Severide, and Hermann [Miranda Rae Mayo, Kinney, and David Eigenberg, respectively] all deserve awards; they were absolutely brilliant!” one IMDb reviewer wrote.
9. Season 5, Episode 20: “Carry Me”
Casey (Jesse Spencer) helps a firefighter who lost his teammates, while Severide sticks close to girlfriend Anna Turner (Charlotte Sullivan) as her leukemia fight takes a turn for the worse. “This is the first episode of this show that I saw. This is the one that got me hooked on this show,” one viewer wrote. “The scene with Kelly and Anna … was well done, gripping, painful, and emotional.”
8. Season 7, Episode 2: “Going to War”
In the first part of a three-episode Chicago franchise crossover, Firehouse 51 rushes to the scene when a high-rise fire traps victims on the top floors. “Love the way [the three episodes] tied together!” an IMDb reviewer raved. “There [were] plenty of tie-ins from one show to the others.”
7. Season 4, Episode 20: “The Last One for Mom”
Det. Bianca Holloway (Jenny Mollen) leaves son J.J. (Maxwell Jenkins) under Severide’s watchful eye at the station, and when she is shot and killed later that day, he has to be the one to break the news to the young boy. “If you don’t cry [during] this one, you’re not human!” said an IMDb user.
6. Season 8, Episode 1: “Sacred Ground”
The team mourns one of their own as Otis (Yuri Sardarov) dies of injuries sustained in the mattress factory fire. “That memorial for Otis was heartbreakingly beautiful,” a fan wrote. “You truly could feel their sadness…”
5. Season 3, Episode 19: “I Am the Apocalypse”
A hectic day at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center gets worse when a man detonates a grenade in the ER, severely injuring Severide, in this backdoor pilot for Chicago Med. “In this excellent episode of Chicago Fire, we get introduced to Chicago Med and its staff,” a fan wrote on IMDb after the episode aired. “Chicago Med would be a great addition to the NBC lineup.”
4. Season 5, Episode 15: “Deathtrap”
In another Chicago crossover event, a fire breaks out at a former warehouse that has been converted to a live-work space, injuring Mouch (Christian Stolte) and endangering the daughter of Chicago P.D.’s Olinsky (Elias Koteas). “One of the best episodes yet!” one viewer said. “I was on the edge of my seat from beginning to end!”
3. Season 2, Episode 22: “Real Never Waits”
Boden marries Donna (Melissa Ponzio) at the firehouse, as Casey proposes to Dawson (Monica Raymund). And Season 2 ends on a cliffhanger when an explosion during what seems like a routine call puts multiple firefighters in danger.
2. Season 2, Episode 20: “A Dark Day”
In the first part of a Chicago P.D. crossover, a blast at a charity run event injures Dawson, and it’s up to Casey, Severide, and Hermann to rescue her. Meanwhile, Shay (Lauren German) pushes through her own injury but ends up collapsing.
1. Season 5, Episode 22: “My Miracle”
Casey argues with Dawson about her father’s stay, and Mouch considers retirement, but then a warehouse fire raises the stakes to life and death and puts half the cast of characters in jeopardy — including Casey, who radios a goodbye to Dawson, and Mouch, who suffers a heart attack in the crisis.
Chicago Fire, Wednesdays, 9/8c, NBC