The L appears on the TV show Chicago Fire

[SE CTA Fan]

As mentioned by David Harrison on his Friends and Family charter in October, the TV show Chicago Fire was filming on the now unused ramp from the State Street subway to the Green Line south of Roosevelt Road.

Well, I finally got around to seeing that episode, and too little action actually happened with the L ... and very odd that they called the location the Blue Line south of Logan Square. Didn't notice a destination sign on the train.

But anyways... a question. In the show, two tresspassers just happen to get run over by a train. Very unfortunate. One person is stuck underneath the train, and has their leg caught in one of the trucks. The other met a more deadly demise.

So, the entire fireman cast appears on the scene. Upon consulting with the motorman on the right of way, they decide to test the status of the third rail by throwing a chain on it. Of course, it is still live and a violent explosion of sparks ensues. Made for good TV drama.

Question .... I would think that this is obviously NOT the way the fire department would test the third rail in the event of an emergency. The firemen did call CTA Control who said the power was off (guess they didn't notice the fully operational train - lights and AC running - parked next to them).

In reality, what is used to test for power?

Anybody else see the episode?

Thanks

SE CTA Fan / Terry

[Ratjeev]

Destination sign was a brown Loop. Full episode for those that missed it is online. It's in the first few minutes for those that don't want to watch the whole episode. It's a great show!

http://www.nbc.com/c...station/n29373/

As mentioned by David Harrison on his Friends and Family charter in October, the TV show Chicago Fire was filming on the now unused ramp from the State Street subway to the Green Line south of Roosevelt Road.

Well, I finally got around to seeing that episode, and too little action actually happened with the L ... and very odd that they called the location the Blue Line south of Logan Square. Didn't notice a destination sign on the train.

But anyways... a question. In the show, two tresspassers just happen to get run over by a train. Very unfortunate. One person is stuck underneath the train, and has their leg caught in one of the trucks. The other met a more deadly demise.

So, the entire fireman cast appears on the scene. Upon consulting with the motorman on the right of way, they decide to test the status of the third rail by throwing a chain on it. Of course, it is still live and a violent explosion of sparks ensues. Made for good TV drama.

Question .... I would think that this is obviously NOT the way the fire department would test the third rail in the event of an emergency. The firemen did call CTA Control who said the power was off (guess they didn't notice the fully operational train - lights and AC running - parked next to them).

In reality, what is used to test for power?

Anybody else see the episode?

Thanks

SE CTA Fan / Terry

[Guest]

I saw that clip on "Chicago Fire" there is some "Hollywood" to it. But overall I think its a great show! They use our real gear, our real fire trucks, a real active fire station and real CFD firefighters. Ive been fortunate to work as a background FF extra on two episodes. It was a lot of fun! Ive become friends with a few of the actors. My nephew also took part in filming, he will be pulled out of a fire by "Lt. Casey" in the Dec. 19 episode.

We had an incident at the Pulaski Blue Line station a couple years ago. We had a male individual who had thrown himself onto the tracks, unfortunately when he threw himself he landed on the third rail. He was of course electrocuted and subsequently died. When we arrived we of course had to make sure the power was shut off. CTA Control was notified which is usually the charge of the Battalion Chief. Our firetrucks are equipped with sets of CTA third rail chains, fiberglass tools such as a pikepole, a fiberglass ladder and a plastic stretcher (stokes basket) its called, which we will use when a CTA rail incident happens which involves a recovery. When we have an incident involving a CTA train itself we normally will chain the rails at the front and rear of the train after confirming that the power has been shut down.

[SE CTA Fan]

CTA5750 - thanks for the reply! I didn't realize that there was that much cooperation with the real fire department.

I have to say I do enjoy the show (my wife likes it even more, not sure why...). But anyways, its entertaining and especially fun to see the locations used around the city. As with a show typically based in Chicago, the L always seems to find its way into a shot, mostly as a backgound.

And thanks for the explanation of the tools used by the fire department. So, I guess the chain is used in "real life". I thought that there would be a more "high tech" method. I work near the Fire Academy and have seen the short stretch of track with third rail that must be used for training. Very cool.

But, I do like trying to guess the locations/lines of the L that are used as background elements in various shots. Somewhat easy to do when looking at the type of structure. Of course, its always interesting that someone seems to drive down Lake Street in each episode.

Thanks again

SE CTA Fan / Terry

[sw4400]

Anybody else see the episode?

Never watched "Chicago Fire" except for the first few minutes as curiosity drove me to do so here, but this can't all be 100% real... let me dissect what I'm talking about here with this episode:

The Fire Units: The Fire Trucks, Ambulances, Battalion Vehicles, etc... they have to be spares or something. Even if shooting lasts only a handful of hours at best, you can't put a actual emergency vehicle out of service for any length of time for TV filming. What if an actual emergency comes up and those units are needed?

The "L" Train: Again, it appears in this clip that a firefighter cuts something off the train to free the victim. I don't think the CTA would let the TV crew borrow a "L" train to damage it for a "rescue".

[Busjack]

Never watched "Chicago Fire" except for the first few minutes as curiosity drove me to do so here, but this can't all be 100% real... let me dissect what I'm talking about here with this episode:

...

Heck, the love scene in the commercial promoting the show is probably fake. However, I'm sure 5750 can tell us, one way or the other.

As far as fake stuff in "rapid transit" movies, I contend that the premise of "The Taking of Pelham 123" is not credible, because in the case of a runaway subway train--the authorities can turn off the electric power, as described above. Now, someone argued with me about what the kidnappers would do if the TA did, but I don't buy that.

[Guest]

Never watched "Chicago Fire" except for the first few minutes as curiosity drove me to do so here, but this can't all be 100% real... let me dissect what I'm talking about here with this episode:

The Fire Units: The Fire Trucks, Ambulances, Battalion Vehicles, etc... they have to be spares or something. Even if shooting lasts only a handful of hours at best, you can't put a actual emergency vehicle out of service for any length of time for TV filming. What if an actual emergency comes up and those units are needed?

The "L" Train: Again, it appears in this clip that a firefighter cuts something off the train to free the victim. I don't think the CTA would let the TV crew borrow a "L" train to damage it for a "rescue".

I thought Id share some interesting info for those who enjoy the show here. With the fire units used on the show, you hit the nail on the head! It turns out they are "spares" These rigs were delivered in the early to mid 90s, have seen service in the CFD and are near retirement, they will not use active service rigs. I did quite a bit of research since I do have access to the fire equipment used on the show. I looked up their shop numbers which is a six digit letter/numbers ex...(ABC123) Every CFD vehicle has this id tag on the exterior! The next time you see a CFD rig look for this tag either the sides or on the the front and rear depending on the model. Now for the rundown, Ambulance #61 served as Ambulance #47 on the NW side out of Engine #108. For you south siders! Engine #51 was formerly Engine #75! Truck #81 was formerly Truck Co. #57 from Harlem/Irving Pk.(near my home!). Squad #3 was formerly a CFD HazMat unit. That rig is currently sitting at the CFD yard at North/Throop. The last few weeks I noticed they have been using another former hazmat rig as "Squad 3" So they may have discontinued using the rig currently sitting at the shops. They have an additional "spare" engine and truck when the script requires the use of additional fire equipment. The battalion chiefs car, Im still working on that! I like how they use the CTA L for some scenes. and especially in the scene as with last week. A few months back I spotted a bunch of cars, a CTA NF bus and lots of other equipment parked at the fire station they use which is Engine #18 at Blue Island/14th st. You may see activity there the next time you pass by. If you look at the bay doors of the fire house they have the shows rig numbers on the doors! "Engine #51" "Truck #81" "Squad 3".

[busfan2]

Thanks for the information. I do enjoy watching the show. I really enjoy the fact it's set in a city I visit and I recognize the L lines and I can say I've seen that in person. Is there a station that in real life houses "Engine 51", "Truck 81", and "Squad 3"? The Battalion Chief car looks relatively new so I'm wondering if it might have been purchased for the show since it would be a lot cheaper to buy that then it would a piece of fire apparatus. I haven't seen the CFD New Flyer bus so I'll be watching for that.

[Guest]

Thanks for the information. I do enjoy watching the show. I really enjoy the fact it's set in a city I visit and I recognize the L lines and I can say I've seen that in person. Is there a station that in real life houses "Engine 51", "Truck 81", and "Squad 3"? The Battalion Chief car looks relatively new so I'm wondering if it might have been purchased for the show since it would be a lot cheaper to buy that then it would a piece of fire apparatus. I haven't seen the CFD New Flyer bus so I'll be watching for that.

You will read in my post about the firehouse! No, they do not use the CFD NF, I stated a CTA bus. The battalion chiefs vehicle is a real CFD vehicle. :)

[busfan2]

You will read in my post about the firehouse! No, they do not use the CFD NF, I stated a CTA bus. The battalion chiefs vehicle is a real CFD vehicle.

I'm not sure why I thought New Flyer. Sorry. Guess I wasn't reading closing. Not being from Chicago I'm not familiar with locations of fire stations and what equipment is assigned to which station. What I was trying to ask is if in real life there is a station with those companies. My education continues

Thanks. I did find it. Next time I'm down there I might try and look for the station.

[Busjack]

Just happened to flip through to see Chicago Med,and there was a realistic looking car 2819 in a wreck (which resembled the Lake and Wabash one), and a realistic looking Rahm Emanuel cutting some ribbon.

[BusHunter]

I was watching a season of "The Beast", the 2009 series, and towards the end of that series there is a point where Patrick Swayze gets on the bus to pass some intel off to his partners neighbor. So being the bus person that I am I wanted to know what bus. #6771, a Fg bus?? Then in a later episode the neighbor gets on the bus again. This time it's the same bus, #6771, but it's running down Roosevelt cause there's a #12 sign where she gets off. I need to rewatch that and see does the bus have a #12 destination.

Edited November 18, 2015 by BusHunter