Current:Home > ContactWild video of car trapped in building confuses the internet. It’s a 'Chicago Fire' scene. -USAMarket
Wild video of car trapped in building confuses the internet. It’s a 'Chicago Fire' scene.
View
Date:2025-04-18 04:04:22
A series of dramatic videos showing a car improbably lodged high up in a building and a Chicago firefighter attempting a daring, if ill-advised, rescue set social media ablaze this week.
If the videos seemed to defy reality and be something straight out of Hollywood, there's good reason.
Many users on TikTok speculated in the comments that the seeming emergency had to be staged as part of a film set for NBC series "Chicago Fire." Turns out, they were right.
The show confirmed Thursday to USA TODAY that "Chicago Fire" was indeed filming a scene that day for an upcoming episode. No other details about the scene or when viewers will be able to see it appear in an episode of the long-running drama have been revealed.
Music:Paul McCartney gushes about Beyoncé’s version of 'Blackbird' on her new 'Cowboy Carter' album
TikTok videos show car in building, firefighter jumping on it
Videos began circulating Thursday on social media that both showed a blue sedan trapped in the building and a firefighter dislodging the vehicle by jumping on it from an aerial ladder.
Another silver two-door car can also be seen pancaked on the street in front of a Chicago Fire Department truck.
"Somebody gave this man his keys," said TikTok user @mat_the_wumbo in one video that garnered more than 6 million views.
What appeared to be a drastic emergency and a dramatic rescue was quickly debunked by many users who took to the comments to theorize that it was just a "Chicago Fire" film set. The procedural, which follows firefighters, rescue personnel and paramedics at Chicago Fire Department's fictional Firehouse 51, is in its 12th season on NBC.
For fans of the show, there was one telltale giveaway: Some of the clips show Squad 3 emblazoned on the truck, the number of the unit depicted in the series.
Chicago FD reacts to the viral video: 'Would never have happened'
The Chicago Fire Department also confirmed to USA TODAY Thursday that the video circulating was not real.
As commenters pointed out, there's no way that the fictional squad could be confused with the real Chicago Fire Department, as the agency has no Squad 3, department spokesman Larry Langford told USA TODAY.
Plus, the rescue method depicted in the videos is also not exactly ... standard procedure.
Had a firefighter attempted that kind of stunt, that person would almost certainly have faced some measure of disciplinary action for being "in direct violation of standing orders," Langford said.
"The TV show takes liberties with our techniques in the name of time efficiency and drama," Langford said. "Had this been a real event, what you see in the video would never have happened."
How Chicago FD really would have handled that situation
Langford went so far as to verify the fire department's procedures with its special operations team before providing an explanation that may sound far more mundane.
Had a car managed to careen into a building so high up, rescuers would first have first stabilized it by attaching lines to the frame and securing those lines to an internal anchor point, such as a suitable column in the structure. If the building's integrity had not been compromised, firefighters would then have used a winch system to pull the vehicle back into the building, using care to make sure that it was not leaking gasoline.
Only then would victims inside the car be removed and treated for any injuries, Langford said. An aerial ladder, such as the one used in the "Chicago Fire" film shoot, would not have been used at all for a rescuer to use to climb onto the vehicle.
"Exciting to watch but not backed up by reality at all," Langford said.
But real life doesn't always make for the most thrilling television, as Langford admitted.
"We are often amused at how TV shows portray our techniques," Langford said. He added that officials with the department have in the past been invited to set as advisers to offer their expertise, which is sometimes ignored in favor of the "most dramatic effect."
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
veryGood! (813)
Related
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Former Atlantic City politician charged with election fraud involving absentee ballots
- Activists renew push to repeal Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban
- How a cat, John Lennon and Henry Cavill's hairspray put a sassy spin on the spy movie
- San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
- 9 hospitalized after 200 prisoners rush corrections officers in riot at Southern California prison
- Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton to depart Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025
- Kentucky House boosts school spending but leaves out guaranteed teacher raises and universal pre-K
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- TikToker Campbell Pookie Puckett Apologizes for Harm Caused by Insensitive Photos
Ranking
- SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
- Cigna sells Medicare business to Health Care Services Corp. for $3.7 billion
- Beheading video posted on YouTube prompts response from social media platform
- Keller Williams agrees to pay $70 million to settle real estate agent commission lawsuits nationwide
- The city of Chicago is ordered to pay nearly $80M for a police chase that killed a 10
- Georgia could require cash bail for 30 more crimes, including many misdemeanors
- New Hampshire school worker is charged with assaulting 7-year-olds, weeks after similar incident
- FedEx driver who dumped $40,000 worth of packages before holidays order to pay $805 for theft
Recommendation
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
Indiana legislation could hold back thousands of third graders who can’t read
US center’s tropical storm forecasts are going inland, where damage can outstrip coasts
Wisconsin Supreme Court orders pause on state’s presidential ballot while it weighs Phillips case
'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
Halle Bailey Reveals How She and Boyfriend DDG Picked Baby's Name
Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper's Romance Is Far From the Shallow During NYC Outing
Georgia could require cash bail for 30 more crimes, including many misdemeanors