Current:Home > FinanceWild video of car trapped in building confuses the internet. It’s a 'Chicago Fire' scene. -Achieve Wealth Network
Wild video of car trapped in building confuses the internet. It’s a 'Chicago Fire' scene.
View
Date:2025-04-17 20:29:45
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! (53838)
Related
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Selena Gomez and Emily Blunt Poke Fun at Golden Globes Lip-Reading Drama
- Are banks, post offices, FedEx, UPS open on MLK Day 2024? Is mail delivered? What to know
- Explosive device kills 5 Pakistani soldiers in country’s southwest
- The city of Chicago is ordered to pay nearly $80M for a police chase that killed a 10
- Fire from Lebanon kills 2 Israeli civilians as the Israel-Hamas war rages for 100th day
- Senior Pakistani politician meets reclusive Taliban supreme leader in Afghanistan
- Iowa principal who risked his life to protect students during a high school shooting has died
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- Starting Five: The top women's college basketball games this weekend feature Iowa vs. Indiana
Ranking
- New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
- Get ready for transparent TV: Tech giants show off 'glass-like' television screens at CES
- As Israel-Hamas war reaches 100-day mark, here’s the conflict by numbers
- Packers QB Jordan Love helps college student whose car was stuck in the snow
- Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
- Da'Vine Joy Randolph talks about her Golden Globes win, Oscar buzz and how she channels grief
- See how people are trying to stay warm for Chiefs vs. Dolphins at frigid Arrowhead Stadium
- What we know so far about Kalen DeBoer's deal with Alabama
Recommendation
Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
Holy Cow! Nordstrom Rack's Weekend Sale Has SKIMS, UGGs & Calvin Klein, up to 88% Off
‘Mean Girls’ takes 1st place at the box office. So fetch.
Lynn Yamada Davis, Cooking with Lynja TikTok chef, dies at age 67
Arkansas State Police probe death of woman found after officer
A huge fire engulfs a warehouse in Russia outside the city of St Petersburg
UN sets December deadline for its peacekeepers in Congo to completely withdraw
Chiefs vs. Dolphins playoff game weather: How cold will wild-card game in Kansas City be?