‘9-1-1’ Introduces a New Problem for the 118

Heading into 9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 16, it seemed like the 118 was going to be in some major trouble with the citizens of Los Angeles, then a board of reviews for their handling of a fire call. And yes, they were, but near the end of the episode, another problem was introduced. Warning: Spoilers for 9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 16 ahead!

The episode itself and the incidents are framed around the 118 being questioned by the board, with Rich Sommer, Rya Kihlstedt, and Al Coronel playing chiefs. Chimney (Kenneth Choi), as the captain of the 118, is the focus. New guy Sam (Michael Johnston), temporarily replacing Buck (Oliver Stark) to everyone’s surprise, causes a bit of a problem when he says that he saw Chimney punch the building manager. See, the 118 is called multiple times to the same address, only for it to appear to be a false alarm each time. It’s frustrating to the point that Chimney jokingly suggests Josh (Bryan Safi) hang up on future calls to the address. (The incident with the building manager occurs when Chimney tries to send firefighters down to search the basement, trying to find something. No one else saw Chimney punch him, because he didn’t. More on that shortly.)

But then the 118 is called back when there is a fire, and the alarms don’t go off. The tenants turn on the 118, blaming them for losing everything and forcing the firefighters to retreat into the truck until the LAPD can arrive to handle crowd control. But when Chimney spots the building manager going into the building, he goes after him and ends up carrying him out, but only after he’s suffered third- and fourth-degree burns. He later dies, but Eddie (Ryan Guzman) makes it clear when he’s questioned that Chimney, at that point, saved his life.

The chiefs point out that while Chimney is an excellent firefighter and paramedic, the 118 has had a lot of “bad days” over the last year. There’s a cell phone video of one of them jumping off a bridge (Eddie). There was the unauthorized field amputation (Chimney, off Eddie’s suggestion). A firefighter collapsed at a scene due to an undisclosed medical condition (Hen). Another is currently seeking treatment for substance abuse issues (Buck). Furthermore, the investigation is now exploring the possibility of someone disabling the fire alarm system — and they’re looking at Chimney for it.

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We do get a great scene of Chimney’s wife, Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt), and ride-or-die Hen (Aisha Hinds) whispering about their concerns about him, but then there’s the matter of what this means for Chimney. He argues that he didn’t get the job because he earned it, but because Bobby died and the department felt sorry for them and promoted from within. While they won’t fire him, he thinks they’ll just do everything to make him quit, which he doesn’t think would be much at this point. Poor Chimney!

Meanwhile, Buck, who will “probably” be back, as Chimney puts it, is using his time off to run errands for everyone — bringing coffees and his sister Maddie’s dry cleaning to dispatch, picking up Hen’s (Aisha Hinds) medication — because he wants to repay them for helping him and joins in on the investigation when the 118 bands together and works with dispatch going over all the calls that have come in from the building to figure out just what went wrong and save Chimney’s job.

It all leads to a room on the original plans that seems to now be blocked by a concrete wall, and while Chimney’s getting an apology from Sam about punching the building manager comment (he’s a people pleaser, so he went along with what he heard), Buck, Eddie, Hen, and Ravi return to the building. There, they find a hidden room, filled with people that the building manager had locked in and left to get sick; the previous alarms had been their attempts to get help, as was the fire. It’s heartbreaking. And yes, they’re all taken to the hospital to get the medical help they need, but it seems likely that once they’re cleared medically, they’ll be put on a bus across the border. What’s worse is that all evidence of the traffickers’ wrongdoing was destroyed by the fire. But as the 118 argues to the returning Detective Hooks (Josh Stamberg), these people can help with the investigation — and he seems ready to help them in return.

However, we then see him on the phone saying he thinks they might have a real problem here. There was something off about him when he worked alongside Athena (Angela Bassett) in Episode 15, so we’re not too surprised he’s shady. Should we be worried about what moves he can make against the 118 using the LAFD and any connections he may have there?

The episode ends with some good news, though: Buck returns to work! And he’s more than happy to see Sam leave. We can’t blame him, but it is a bit much to say to someone who was always going to be temporary and who is on his way out that he hopes to never see him again. There’s no need for Buck to worry. No one can ever take his place at the 118.

What did you think of the latest episode? Let us know in the comments section below.

9-1-1, Thursdays, 8/7c, ABC