From Propane Gas to Flicker Effects, How ‘Chicago Fire’ Pulls Off Its Blazing Sequences
A.D. Amorosi Ever since its 2012 start, no matter how attractive its actors, there is only one person who truly puts the heat, smoke and flames to “Chicago Fire”: special effects coordinator and pyrotechnic John Milinac. Fire may be the star of Dick Wolf’s red-hot series, but Milinac is its master. For ten seasons, Milinac has pitted Chicago’s imaginary firefighters and paramedics against raging flames, quickly enveloping smoke and crumbling properties, as well as exploding cars, runaway trucks, un-moored electrical wires and more than a few slippery roofs. Working on this season’s seventh episode when speaking to Variety, Milinac and his 13-person team are prepping a “burn stage” and all of its elements so that it can be turn-key ready for filming on Tuesday morning. “That’s a lot of push, especially after we just wrapped an exterior fire that was condensed — which means things are overlapping — and next, we have some carnage with a handful of vehicles, which means we’re going to have some pre-damage to do in advance.”