Derek Haas serves at the co-creator and executive producer of NBC’s “Chicago Fire.” The show centers around the lives of firefighters in Chicago Firehouse 51. Tonight’s episode, entitled, “Joyriding,” encounters one of their own helping in a dire situation. Haas gave us some insight as what viewers will be able to expect from this very intense episode surrounding Lt. Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney):
“Severide is out jogging in the morning, and he doesn’t have his keys or cell phone. He comes across a boy who has been injured in a collapsed backhoe loader inside, and has an arterial bleed. The episode is all about Severide trying to keep this boy alive long enough to hold out for someone, anyone, to discover them there. This one will have an effect on Severide going forward.”
Haas then explained to us how he and his team came up with the concept of this episode:
“When Michael Brandt and I first came to Chicago to interview firefighters, one of the stories they told us was an that an off-duty fireman saw a woman calling for help in a burning building. He didn’t have any of his gear, equipment, or knew if anyone else was going to come. He just plunged into it full steam ahead with just the clothes on his back and ran up 27 stories to help pull this woman out of the fire. It’s NOT the same situation that we’re doing here, but we thought, ‘What’s the best way to isolate a fireman?’ We’ve seen a bunch of rescues where they have all of their gear and equipment, and they have to be smart and improvise. However, what’s a situation that we can put Severide in where he has none of that? Then, the inspiration took us from there.”
As we continued our podcast with Derek, we spoke more about Popcorn Fiction, a website he created that promotes and publishes short stories in the science fiction genre.
Also, he spoke about his fourth novel, “The Right Hand,” which was released in November 2012, but will soon be available in paperback next month.
To download the full podcast with Derek Haas, as he touched on about the “Chicago Fire” spinoff, “Chicago PD,” and more, click the player below.
For more information on Popcorn Fiction, visit its website at http://popcornfiction.com
Follow Derek Haas on Twitter at: @popcornhaas.
“Chicago Fire” airs Tuesday nights at 10/9c on NBC.
