Real-Life Firefighter Roasts Chicago Fire for One Blatantly Inaccurate Scene
If you're not a firefighter, you probably didn't even notice this inaccuracy.
Modern procedurals are moving more and more towards realism. If fifteen years ago even viewers could understand that the scenes shown to them looked completely unrealistic and unreliable, in today's projects the discrepancy with reality is often noticed only by the professionals themselves.
The creators of series about paramedics and police officers invite special consultants to the set, such as retired police officers, who regulate the actions of the characters so that they look as realistic as possible.
However, no matter how much the level of authenticity has increased in recent years, the procedural TV shows still cannot be considered completely reliable.
Chicago Fire Focuses Heavily on Personal Stories of First Responders
Chicago Fire is not just about firefighters and paramedics, it is about the entire flawed system of the Chicago Fire Department. Bureaucracy, waste of budget, deception of taxpayers, conflicts with superiors and everything that gets in the way of saving lives.
There are many conflicts within the fire department, but the characters always have the courage to work things out and forgive each other – after all, they each hold a fellow firefighter's life in their hands.
With Chicago Fire's focus on the personal stories of first responders and the intensity of drama needed to keep viewers glued to their screens and attract new ones, it's not surprising that the show often features unrealistic life-saving sequences. However, one scene in particular made a real-life firefighter furious.
The One Scene that Made a Real Firefighter Angry
A week ago, a New York City firefighter, Anthony Martinez, participated in an Insider video discussing firefighting scenes from various movies and TV shows, including Chicago Fire, and this is what he said:
“I was actually very furious with this clip, because we drill on roof rope rescues a lot with my department. So when I saw him put the ax in and use the rope around a vent pipe. That’s a big no-no, because that is not substantial enough to hold the weight.”
This scene can be seen in the Episode 5 of the third season, and although Anthony criticized this particular sequence, everything that happened next received a rather approving assessment from him.
Martinez praised the technique of the firefighters in the video and how they immediately put their heads down when they heard the glass break – that's really the first thing a real firefighter would do. Overall, Martinez gave the Chicago Fire segment a score of 7 out of 10 for authenticity.
Source: Insider