See You Next Apocalypse – The episode begins with showing Vince Leone (Billy Burke) in a jail cell. A very short flashback of where episode 2 left off shows how his bar fight with Liam (Jason O’Mara) landed him there. Nearly as soon as the flashback ends Deputy Darryl (Bradley Peters) processes him out. Much to Vince’s surprise, Sharon Leone (Diane Farr) is there to pick him up and explain how she knows Liam. Although she promises that nothing happened between them, he opts to walk to the station.
During Family Day at the Camp compound, Umar Kader (William “Big Sleeps” Stewart) plays basketball with his son (Jayden Oniah) while Bode Donovan (Max Thieriot) visits Manny Perez (Kevin Alejandro). It’s not long before the news of Vince’s arrest casts a pall over the entire day. Eve Edwards (Jules Latimer) doesn’t appear too happy with Manny’s arrival either, but her attention is soon focused on the amped-up Bode, who is attempting to volunteer for some activity to keep his mind busy. After some reluctance, she agrees to escort him on a hike. At this time, she discovers her boots filled with motor oil. A prank that Bode refers to as “juicing.”
Gabriela Perez (Stephanie Arcila) seeks advice from Manny on wedding cakes, but he appears to only make her decision tougher. He does, however, provide some much-needed life advice when he encourages her to deal with her feelings for Bode. After he claims it worked wonders for him with her mother, it’s revealed that Gabriela has spoken to and invited her to the wedding.
Sharon and Vince’s attempts to hash out their problems at the station are interrupted by an emergency call. With the station and Three Rock gathered at the emergency call, Vince refers to their campaign as the Belenus Fire. Rogue winds have made a mess of the scenario and their main objective is to keep the fire far enough away to keep the road active, being that it is the only way on and off the mountain.
As Eve continues to receive ridicule from her team she seeks advice from the new captain of Team 42, Jake Crawford (Jordan Calloway). A call from Greencrest with the request to help evacuate two civilians trapped further up the mountain prevents him from responding. Vince gives him Gabriela and Sharon and says he’ll monitor them from the ground with the new drone system Luke Leone (Michael Trucco) issued the department. Merely seconds later Vince learns that Liam is the drone operator.
After a bit of back and forth, Liam agrees to find a different drone operator until Bode intervenes. Sharon is equally surprised to learn that Liam is the operator. She, Jake, and Gabrelia are even more surprised when they arrive further up the mountain to find an entire encampment instead of the two reported civilians. It doesn’t take long for the group’s leader, Laura (Bonnie Discepolo) to not only deny making the call but insist on fighting the fire herself. It’s later revealed that it was Alice (Mackenzie Cardwell), Laura’s sister, who placed the call because their brother, Zachary (Neil Webb) got injured while prepping for fire.
While Gabriela treats Zachary’s eye, Manny’s frustration with Eve taking his old role as Captain leads to an argument in front of the crew. Manny claims he might have been a bad Captain but says that he always had the respect of his team. The dispute doesn’t linger due to Umar, who has ventured too far up the mountain and pays the price for his oversight.
The situation grows worse when night approaches. Liam tells Vince the fire has now surrounded them. Despite the urgency, the discovery of a punctured lung, and the possible internal bleeding, Zachary continues to refuse to leave the camp, as does Laura. When Laura finally learns of Zachary’s injuries and agrees to evacuate her people, it appears too late. The encampment’s cars have caught on fire and the Fire Engine won’t provide the capacity to evacuate all the members. Despite the realization, Jake tells Laura to gather all her people at the engine.
While Umar is prepped for the descent down the mountain, Jake and his team work to remove all the non-essential equipment from the fire engine. The resurgence of spot fires alludes to Umar being loaded into the ambulance in the nick of time. Meanwhile, all the evacuees from the encampment are crammed in the fire engine. A new problem is discovered when they realize there is only room left for the driver, which is a job that ultimately falls on Sharon’s shoulders. Jake and Gabriela decide to ride on the back of the engine, wrapped in heat-reflective blankets. All goes well until Sharon misses a crucial turn and freaks out. The Three Rock team continues to put up a commendable effort clearing but soon finds themselves retreating. Vince takes over as Sharon’s guide and gets her out of immediate danger, but there is still a long way to the bottom of the mountain and with the condition of the fire engine, they can’t take much more exposure.
When the road becomes completely blocked with fire, Fire Engine 1591’s safe descent down the mountain appears to be over. That is until Bode suggests breaking open the nearby water main and letting it flood the area. Although everyone agrees with the plan, even Liam, he is quick to point out that there is no way to control the water when it’s unleashed, meaning it could wash out the road.
A happy reunion follows the success of the plan. Later that evening at the Edgewater Station, Manny apologizes for undermining Eve and encourages her to not give up on winning the guys over. He also reminds her that there is no reason that she can’t have fun while doing so.
Liam appears to get the wrong idea when Sharon asks him to meet her at Smokey’s. Although he professes his feelings, she attempts to explain how she still cares for Vince. He doesn’t appear to understand her feelings but accepts them. She later tells Vince that she is ready to fight for their relationship.
When Eve seeks more advice from Jake the topic is Bode this time. After mentioning that she feels the desire to help Bode but doesn’t know how Jake reveals the truth about Cara (Sabina Gadecki) and Genevieve (Alix West Lefler). The episode ends with Gabriela visiting Bode at the camp. While trying to convince him that she’s moved on, she appears surprised to learn that he claims to have done the same. Although she’s shown walking away, it’s unclear how she’s taking the news.
Fire Country Review
Once again, another episode is completely overshadowed by immature workplace romances. Well, considering that some of the characters are married with families; I suppose it’s much more than that. In addition, I guess I can’t really complain being this is the premise for the series. I just wish there was more focus on the rescue scenarios and techniques. As I’ve said before, I appreciate the realistic approach to some of these situations, although this episode was completely absent of them. For that, I’d give this episode a 4 out of 10.
I didn’t mind Jason O’Mara in some of the other movies and shows I’ve seen him in, but in this, he’s just awful. His accent is appalling, but Sharon is even more. I never much cared for her since her time in “Numbers,” but I am embarrassed for her in some of the scenes. I don’t even know how to describe her reaction during the bar fight. I also felt the encampment along with Jake and Gabriela’s hiding under the reflective blanket was a bit infantile.
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