‘Chicago Fire’ season 5 on set: Eamonn Walker on how Boden processes, handles Jimmy Borelli aftermath

While we may be now an episode past what happened to Jimmy Borelli on “Chicago Fire” this season, how much is the aftermath of his injury sticking with the crew of Firehouse 51? It’s a difficult dynamic being that his injury was so graphic and devastating that in many other professions, it would probably be known as a shattering moment for him. It’s something that is unfortunately part of the job, given that we’ve seen Shay die on the show coupled with various other injuries for many of the other people out in the field.

The person Jimmy’s injury impacts the most is Wallace Boden, if for no other reason than that his conflict with him led to heated arguments and Jimmy ultimately biting off way more than he could chew as a measure to prove himself. He wanted to dive into the fire, both literally and metaphorically, when he was not at the optimal mental capacity to do so.

So where is Boden at now with all of this? As Eamonn Walker told us while we were at the press junket for all four “Chicago” shows last week, what happened here will hang over his character; yet, at the same time he must also continue to move forward:

“Boden’s been through far more than we’ve seen on this show. Boden was part of 9/11, which is a story that will be coming up. When you see what happened there — we all saw that [when it happened] and wondered ‘how do we move forward?’ We have to. What a firefighter and a first responder has to do is absorb it and feel it. The bell’s gonna go. Somebody else is out there saying ‘please help me out of this fire.’

“What happened to Jimmy Borelli is a very sad thing, and he feels partly responsible for not speaking to the higher-ups above him and saying ‘he’s not ready for work because he’s grieving.’ He knew it, he tried to absorb it, he tried to be the adult about it, but it turned out really bad.

“But we, as a firehouse, have to move on. Boden will keep up contact with Borelli and will go out and see him because that’s a long recovery. With the other firefighters, the main thing he’s gotta do is push them to do their job.”

While it doesn’t seem like Borelli will ever be a firefighter on the show once more, executive producer Michael Brandt did tell us at the event that there is still a chance at some point for Steven R. McQueen to return. However, nothing is confirmed at present.