Is anyone on Chicago Fire a real firefighter?

Chicago Fire doesn’t mess around. On a weekly basis, the characters are placed in death-defying situations and forced to confront emergencies that make the average person crumble. It’s what makes the show so thrilling.

Of course, given the fact that firefighting is a real, risky profession, there might be some fans who wonder about the show’s authenticity. Is it all pretend or does Fire rely on real-life experts when it comes to depicting rescue missions?

Well, the answer might surprise you.

Which Chicago Fire actors are real firefighters?

For starters, all of the main cast members go through rigorous training before they are deemed fit to handle firefighting equipment onscreen. They are trained by the real Chicago Fire Department, and the drills they run are nearly identical to the ones that junior firefighters run before they’re let out in the field.

While none of the major cast members (Taylor Kinney, Miranda Rae Mayo, David Eigenberg, etc.) have real-life firefighting experience, the show does go out of its way to cast real firefighters in background and supporting roles. The most notable example of this is Tony Ferraris.

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Ferraris plays a slightly fictionalized version of himself: a Squad 3 rescue-truck driver named Tony, and he told Wolf Entertainment that the increased amount of screen time he got happened almost by accident.

"“I started out as an extra”, he recalled. “And then [Fire showrunner] Derek Haas approached me around episode five or six and asked me to read for him, and then they started writing me in.”"

Ferraris has appeared in a total of 174 Fire episodes, with additional appearances in Chicago PD and Chicago Med. He’s become a crucial part of the fictional firehouse 51, all the while serving the public in the real world. Pretty impressive, if you ask us.

What do you hope to see in the Chicago Fire season 11 premiere? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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