After he's injured in a terrible fire at an auto machine shop, Jose Vargas is forced to go on disability and leave his life as a firefighter behind - a task he finds incredibly difficult. Chief Boden tries to help a suspected teenage firebug. Also, Severide receives an enticing invitation from Renee, a woman who he saved from a car crash incident involving live electrical wires. Meanwhile, Cruz tries to save his younger brother Leon from the gang he is involved with.

A troubled Chief Boden goes to the police when a man dies in a hardware store fire set by Ernie, the troubled teenage firebug he’s been trying to help, and his Uncle Ray. Meanwhile, Severide decides on his future and reaches out to his father. Elsewhere, Otis finds camaraderie when he fills in for a few shifts at the slowest firehouse in the city, and makes a decision of his own, while Dawson and Shay find themselves in a bad predicament during a call to a tenement.

Severide finds that he shares a familiar past with Eric Whaley, the Lieutenant who was brought into the firehouse to help out. Dawson lets Shay in on her secret, while Casey deals with family issues. Meanwhile, a bad batch of heroin on the streets has Boden and the team scrambling, while Clarice and Shay find they have a new problem to overcome.

While responding to a call in the field, Dawson accidentally hits a pedestrian who stepped in front of the ambulance, and is left to deal with the repercussions. Lt. Casey and Lt. Severide disagree and continue to investigate an arson case while Chief Boden is left to decide whether to attend an important function in New York. Elsewhere, in hopes of preparing him for a possible promotion, Lt. Casey puts Herrmann at the helm for a shift so he can discover firsthand what his superiors deal with.

It's a family reunion when Dawson and Antonio's mother and father come to Chicago for their big anniversary party, but things quickly turn south. When a deep secret comes to the surface involving his stepson James, Chief Boden decides to take matters into his own hands. Meanwhile, Casey tries to save a young boy during a harrowing call to a warehouse and Otis and Kidd become competitive at the mud-hundred race.