With most of the squad still trapped inside the burning warehouse fire, Chief Boden makes a risky last-minute decision in an effort to save his men. Dawson continues to deal with her father, who has new plans for himself. Brett's childhood friend Hope visits the Windy City and strikes the attention of someone within the firehouse, while Kidd goes head-to-head with her landlord. Meanwhile, a fire at a high school hits close to home for Boden.

After learning the school fire wasn't an accident, Chief Boden turns up the pressure on Severide and Casey to investigate the cause of the fire that trapped his wife. Fueled by a competitive bet against Firehouse 87, Mouch pushes all of the wrong buttons in his need to win the competitive challenge known as the firefighter muster. Meanwhile, as Kidd settles into her new living arrangement, her unresolved feelings prompt her to question the intentions of newcomer Hope.

Lt. Casey gets off on the wrong foot with Sam Mullins, a temporary Chief who is filling in for Boden at House 51 for the morning. When Casey later makes a risky move in an attempt to save a distraught man from jumping off a building, Mullins has a surprise that Casey does not expect. Mouch flies in Cruz's brother Leon as a birthday surprise, but the rest of the squad struggles to keep it a secret. Meanwhile, Brett is caught off guard when she learns new information about her hometown friend Hope.

While running a secret errand, Dawson finds herself trapped in a collapsed parking structure. With all paths of exit blocked, she is forced to improvise and works double-duty to keep a number of injured individuals alive while trying to maintain peace among those trapped. Meanwhile, pressure is mounting on Casey as he begins to take on additional duties, Kidd grows increasingly skeptical of Hope after learning about rumors circulating and the firehouse receives a surprise visitor.

Casey and Severide find themselves at odds after Casey argues with him over the best way to save a teenager entangled in barbed wire. When Casey looks to Boden for help smoothing out the situation, he comes to the realization that he will have to fix it himself. Elsewhere, Otis tries to convince Casey to participate in the beta test for an expensive piece of new firefighting equipment imported from Japan. Meanwhile, Kidd and Hope come to blows over a payroll issue and Brett goes on a date with a doctor she meets during an ambo call.

After heroically saving a mother and newborn baby from a rooftop fire, Kidd receives surprising news when she discovers she is being transferred out of the firehouse. Severide and Casey believe something is off about the turn of events, prompting them to investigate the situation. Otis and Herrmann discuss the possibilities of taking over a rundown bar and Dawson's frustration with her father, Ramon, reaches a boiling point.

The mattress factory fire spirals out of control. Truck and squad lay it on the line in hopes of getting the trapped victims out alive.

Lt. Casey struggles to get Chief Boden to sign off on an energetic new recruit. Against her better judgment, Foster extends an olive branch to her irritating new medic. Otis inspires Herrmann to seek new partners at Molly’s. Brett realizes life in Fowlerton will take some getting used to.