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Why Severide Caused Truck 81 to Literally Explode on Chicago Fire
Yet again, Severide's impressive heroism and valiant courage saved the day.
In Season 12, Episode 11 of Chicago Fire, titled "Inside Man," Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) was taken on an insane ride after Truck 81 became the target of grand theft auto. (Did you know that standard fire trucks do not require keys to operate?)
After gunmen broke into the firehouse and hijacked Truck 81, it was the heroic Severide who served justice — but it came at a hefty cost.
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Find out everything that happened on Chicago Fire's latest, below:
Truck 81 was stolen by gunmen...with Severide hiding on top
Severide was enjoying a quiet night shift, mindlessly cleaning equipment alone in the truck bay when he heard a strange noise. After three gunmen silently entered the station, Severide carefully climbed atop Truck 81 to avoid being seen. Severide watched in confusion as the men commandeered Truck 81, hijacking the vehicle and speeding away while he hid, stowed away on top of the truck.
It didn't take long for Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) and the firefighters to discover their precious engine was missing. Finding Severide's abandoned cell phone, his wife was quick to suspect foul play. The firefighters soon discovered Truck 81's radio had been disconnected, a.k.a the only way to track the vehicle. Luckily, Darren Ritter (Daniel Kyri) is dating a cop, a connection that came in clutch as the investigation began.
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Severide reached out to Firehouse 51 for help
After speeding through several miles of highway and across state lines, the Truck 81 hijackers finally parked. Severide accessed the situation, finding two gunmen were leaving on an errand as the driver kept watch while smoking a cigarette. Severide instinctually swiped the driver's lighter and cell phone, knowing they'd come in handy later on. Crawling underneath the rig, Severide finagled with the radio's wiring, sending 51 an old CFD code for "return to quarters" and "Squad 3."
Realizing Severide was in a position where he couldn't physically reconnect the radio — but wanted to get in touch — Stella became sick with worry. Severide was in trouble and doing everything he could to contact 51. Meanwhile, the cops connected Truck 81's hijacking to another firetruck robbery in Cincinnati. The culprit was a former truck driver who lost his job after stealing cargo. With firetrucks having high price tags and no keys needed to operate, the driver’s illegal activity escalated to grand theft auto.
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Back to Severide, who struggled to stay hidden from the aforementioned driver. After expertly navigating the rig and creating enough chaos and confusion, Severide attempted to disarm the gunman, going to blows. Amid the scuffle, the gun went off, with the bullet hitting the gunman. Severide attempted to stop the bleeding, but before he could treat him, the other two hijackers returned. After tying up Severide and killing the injured driver, they informed Severide he would be completing the job instead. Even worse, Severide discovered they were using Truck 81 to transport bombs, using the emergency vehicle as a clever cover.
Taking the driver's stolen phone, Severide discreetly called Stella, loudly speaking to the gunmen about their plan in hopes that 51 could track the call and help. Stella and 51 clung to every detail, realizing that they were not only dealing with a kidnapping but a bona fide fire emergency. Wasting no time, Firehouse 51 suited up to go save Severide.
Severide took the wheel... and blew up Truck 81
With Severide handcuffed to the steering wheel, Truck 81 continued its ill-fated journey, packed to the brim with explosives. Severide attempted to reckon with his captors, but as they shoved a gun in his face, he found himself in shortage of any options. The gunmen told Severide to think of his wife and kids and focus on the road, all while threatening to shoot with any resistance.
Knowing the fate of the previous getaway driver, Severide took matters into his own hands. Secretly grabbing the stolen lighter from his pocket, Severide lit a small fire in the driver's seat. With an open flame in a truck full of explosives, the panicked gunmen demanded Severide to pull over. Severide frantically tugged at the wheel as the fire rapidly spread. As 51 narrowed in on Severide's location, they watched in horror as Truck 81 burst into a tower of flames.
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After arriving at the explosion, a terrified Stella cried out for Severide. After finding her dazed husband stumbling through the wreckage (still handcuffed to the disconnected steering wheel, no less), the couple didn't have much time for a reunion before the gunmen started firing at 51. Taking the hose, Ritter hit the gunmen with a blast of water, successfully taking down the perps so that Dwayne could make a swift arrest.
Aside from the tragic loss of Truck 81, Chi-Hards were delighted to see that no one from the station was majorly hurt. After some seriously jaw-dropping heroism and courage, Severide proved once again that no one messes with Firehouse 51 and gets to tell the tale.
Watch Chicago Fire on Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC and the next day on Peacock.
