(groovy music) - No, I'm not changing jobs.

Whoa.

Oh, man.

Just shadowing the film industry pros and real life firefighters who make the magic behind TV's "Chicago Fire."

Their secret, crafting an imaginary world at North Lawndale's Cinespace Studios that looks absolutely real.

So you've got an entire firehouse inside a TV studio.

- We do.

Welcome to our firehouse.

So this is the firehouse on 1400 South Blue Island Avenue.

- That's retired Chicago Fire Department Deputy District Chief Steve Chikerotis.

He serves as a consulting producer of the series.

This was your actual firehouse?

- Well, not this one, the one on Blue Island.

- But I mean, it looks just like this.

- [Steve] It does.

Yeah, exactly.

- [Geoffrey] So you feel right at home here?

- I do.

In fact, some days when I was working both my real firehouse in here, I would be at work here and I would get up to go to my room and it wasn't there.

- [Geoffrey] Steve helps make sure every detail is as realistic as possible.

- So this is one of our hero rigs, Truck 81.

- [Geoffrey] This is a real firetruck.

- [Steve] This is a real firetruck.

- [Geoffrey] Where do you get it from?

- We bought this particular one from a suburban department.

- Well, almost every detail.

That's not even like real concrete.

That's very convincing.

- So now we're walking out of the apparatus floor into the - - On the inside, this faux firehouse looks even more like the actual thing, from the kitchen to the common area to an exact replica of Steve's former office.

So this was your office when you were a firefighter?

- It was.

- Oh yeah look, there's Sears Tower right there.

It's just a bad drop.

It's a meticulous recreation, but some set pieces only have to look the part.

You keep thinking that you're in a real place and then you open a door and you realize it's all make believe.

But on camera it's nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.

I mean, this is realistic.

This is what if you're a firefighter, this is.

- It is very, very similar to most firehouses, including all the ones that I've ever worked in.

- [Geoffrey] All this attention to detail isn't just for show.

It's a way for viewers to catch a glimpse of what firefighters really do.

- That's the main thing that I love about this is, you know, showing that job through art.

You couldn't follow me to work, because it's 1300 degrees ceiling temperatures, zero visibility.

If you shut your eyes, it's even darker than that.

You know, that's the world that we work in.

So we get to kind of let our viewers see what firefighters, what our men and women do.

When you're doing a show about the fire service, you're kind of representing the fire service throughout the country, throughout the world.

Those are my heroes, and that's who we're representing.

- And what better way to step into a firefighter's shoes than to literally step into a firefighter's shoes?

- Let's start by jumping in here you have to kick off your shoes.

- Okay, oh, so you have this all ready to go.

- Your coat and boots would probably be like this.

You'd kick off your shoes, jump into your pants, pull the suspenders up, grab your coat, and get in there quick.

- So the idea is it's the fastest possible way to get to the scene.

- We like to save seconds here so that we have those seconds to try and save lives out in the street.

Okay.

- This is so cool.

Okay, good.

- Here's your fire coat.

- Is there significance to the color at all?

- Well, it's tradition with Chicago.

We use black with the black and yellow.

- And the icing on the cake.

A souped-up up cousin of a scuba tank that allows firefighters to breathe in burning buildings.

This is for the air?

- It is.

- It's letting me know how much air I have left.

- [Steve] Correct.

And that will light up for you in the dark.

I'm gonna let you put it on.

Pull it over and.

- Oh, brother.

I hope I'm not claustrophobic.

(mask hissing) - Now you can pull these bottom straps pull them straight back.

Here you go, how do you feel?

- Okay.

All this gear can be a lot to handle and you still have to get to the site of the fire.

- Sometimes our work might be on the 20th floor of a high rise, so now we have to chug up those stairs.

Maybe we'll put some hose on your shoulder too.

- Oh my God.

- And then when you get to the 20th floor, now it's time to go to work.

- Yeah, going up 20 flights of stairs dressed like this with the really heavy one and a hose.

Unbelievable.

But for Steve, like any firefighter, it's all part of a day's work.

This is every little kid's dream, right?

- I felt like a little kid every day I went to work for my entire career.

- Did you?

- Yeah, I can honestly say I was as excited the last day of my career going to fires as I was the first day of my career.