That call is in response to a car accident, where an elderly woman is trapped in her car, which is now on fire. No problem, just douse the fire, get her out, Bob’s your uncle. Only it’s a hybrid car, which, as you may not know, can be dangerous if it’s on fire due to the risk of its combination of a gas engine and a high-powered electric battery producing toxic gases, high-voltage shock, and thermal runaway (Collider — we’re fun and educational). The longer the fire burns, the more dangerous the situation becomes, so while the rest of the team works on freeing the woman, Herrmann and Kylie Estevez (Katelynn Shennett), at the station to help out, go to connect the hose to the nearest fire hydrant. They’re shocked to find that the nearest hydrant is missing, forcing them to carry the heavy hoses to the next available hydrant 300 feet away.

Herrmann Drops the Mic in the ‘Chicago Fire’ Episode “Relief Cut”

The plan is ingenious: install a tracking device in a new fire hydrant, and wait for someone to take the bait. Herrmann and Estevez put their plan into place, and, sure enough, their fire hydrant is stolen and brought to a scrapyard for cash. Not just any scrapyard, mind you, but “outstanding citizen” Eddie’s scrapyard. At first, Eddie insists it’s a mistake, but the tracker leads them right into the shop, where their hydrant, freshly repainted, sits with a number of others. Both Herrmann and Chief Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney) tear a strip out of Eddie, with Herrmann adding he should spread the word that the city is putting trackers in every hydrant (they’re not, “but the hydrant thieves, they don’t need to know about that”).

Herrmann tersely explains the situation, how hundreds of fire hydrants are missing and need to be replaced. The treasurer tries to avoid the conversation, but Herrmann is having none of it, and continues by making the point personal. It may be a few hundred hydrants missing, but out of 47,000 city-wide, is it a big deal? It is if that hydrant used to be outside your home or your kid’s school, like the two hydrants missing around the school the treasurer’s daughter attends. “If there’s a fire, we gotta pull these heavy hoses and five more just like it an additional 300 feet. And that is like trying to pull a Buick down a football field,” Herrmann explains before throwing the hose into the treasurer’s hand to reinforce the point. It’s effective, with the treasurer asking how much it will cost to replace the hydrants, to which Herrmann replies: “Well, I’m not a numbers guy like you. But every hydrant we replace could save a life. So you tell me. What’s the price of that?”

Herrmann Finally Accepts the Captain Mantle in ‘Chicago Fire’s “Relief Cut”

Ever since being promoted to captain earlier in the season, Herrmann has struggled to commit to the role outside of active duty. Pascal, to his credit, has tried to get Herrmann to embrace his role, to learn first-hand what is involved through mentoring, including in that crossover event. But Herrmann can’t, or more precisely won’t, stand by as his crew put their lives on the line, and repeatedly puts himself back into it. But without a valid reason to ditch the fundraiser, he’s stuck. That’s the moment Herrmann gets it. He now has a voice among the decision makers. All those things he’s wanted to do to improve life for the CFD, he now has an active part in making it happen. Herrmann finally accepts the mantle of captain, realizing that the role isn’t taking him away from the battle, but allowing him to fight for the means of his crew to win it.