Chicago Fire’s top 5 best Otis moments

5. The Goat Crest

In Chicago Fire season 1, we were introduced to Otis for the first time as he was promoted from candidate on Truck 81. Having been given his nickname due to the type of ladder he operated, he was established as quirky and it felt like he was going to be a primary source of comedy for the remainder of the season and the show. This became evident in episode 2, “Mon Amour,” when we saw Otis questioning the crest on Truck 81 and its importance to the firehouse.

The fact that the crest for Firehouse 51 is a goat is enough to confuse the best of people, but Otis just couldn’t seem to figure out why they would have a goat whilst the other firehouses get much cooler creatures to represent their firehouses. Why was this so funny? Because after being around for a very long time, it’s strange that no one would have considered the goat to be a bizarre crest before Otis.

Not only is Otis questioning the goat a funny introduction of his character into the show, but the comment he makes to Mouch (Christian Stolte) later in the episode just takes the cake. When Mouch suggests that Firehouse 51 used to have a goat so they didn’t have to mow the lawn, Otis responds in a way only Otis would—that the candidate’s job is the mow the lawn.

The snippy, sarcastic comments he made in this episode and the way he questions the crest are the moments that solidified Otis as the funny man in Chicago Fire—a role that he has kept up ever since.