Current:Home > MarketsWild video of car trapped in building confuses the internet. It’s a 'Chicago Fire' scene. -InvestPioneer
Wild video of car trapped in building confuses the internet. It’s a 'Chicago Fire' scene.
View
Date:2025-04-13 05:10:14
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! (597)
Related
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Stock market today: Asian stocks advance after Wall Street closes out another winning week
- Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr. thinks Jackson Holliday may have needed more time in the minors
- Storms damage homes in Oklahoma and Kansas. But in Houston, most power is restored
- New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
- Sour Patch Kids Oreos? Peeps Pepsi? What’s behind the weird flavors popping up on store shelves
- ‘How do you get hypothermia in a prison?’ Records show hospitalizations among Virginia inmates
- Horoscopes Today, May 19, 2024
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Man charged with punching actor Steve Buscemi is held on $50,000 bond
Ranking
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- Bernie Sanders to deliver University of New England graduation speech: How to watch
- What we’ve learned so far in the Trump hush money trial and what to watch for as it wraps up
- Gabby Douglas out of US Classic after one event. What happened and where she stands for nationals
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- A complete guide to the 33-car starting lineup for the 2024 Indianapolis 500
- Man suspected of shooting 6-month-old son in hostage standoff near Phoenix apparently killed himself
- Taylor Swift performs 'Max Martin Medley' in Sweden on final night of Stockholm Eras Tour: Watch
Recommendation
What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
2024 PGA Championship Round 3: Morikawa, Schauffele lead crowded leaderboard for final day
Jerry Seinfeld's comedy show interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters after Duke walkouts
The Dow hit a new record. What it tells us about the economy, what it means for 401(k)s.
'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
Dive team finds bodies of 2 men dead inside plane found upside down in Alaska lake
Your Ultimate Guide on Which Crystals Are Best for Love, Finance, Career and Health
How long will cicadas be around this year? Here's when to expect Brood XIX, XIII to die off