As a veteran first responder in NBC’s long-running “Chicago Fire,” firefighter Randall “Mouch” McHolland (Christian Stolte) has racked up an impressive record on the show, racing into action in every one of the series’ 10 seasons (per IMDb). This, of course, is no small feat, considering that this “One Chicago” hit series consistently plunges its ensemble cast into life-threatening emergencies, from high-rise blazes to chemical spills to virulent bio-weapon attacks. As such, simply surviving until the next episode counts as a major win for the heroic squad members of Chicago’s Firehouse 51.
In the same vein of occupational hazards faced by stars of any multi-season series, however, Stolte’s Mouch is also forced to deal with a phenomenon other actors in his position have confronted: fan theories about a character’s narrative arc. From wild speculations about who is slated to be killed off in an upcoming episode, to carefully reasoned scenarios about who is going to hook up with who in the coming season, fan theories run the gamut from unlikely to totally preposterous. That being said, what’s a recent fan theory about the career trajectory of “Chicago Fire” mainstay Mouch that earned an unequivocal “this ain’t happening” from the star himself?
Mouch will not become the Truck 81 lieutenant
As a key component in the firefighting arsenal housed at the fictional Firehouse 51 in “Chicago Fire,” the combination pumper-aerial ladder truck known as Truck 81 operates under the leadership of its lieutenant, which is currently firefighter and engineer Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo). Kidd rises to this position over the course of several seasons in the show, with her eventual promotion up in the air for many episodes as she travels around the country promoting her educational Girls on Fire program.
As the lieutenancy of Truck 81 has changed hands a few times already, a fan theory about Mouch assuming the position actually isn’t all that farfetched. But when queried by a fan about the possibility at a recent One Chicago Day fan event, Stolte was quick to respond in the negative, saying, “Um… no. Mouch is not going to be the lieutenant of anything.” He then expanded on his answer, adding, “I think the plan for the character from the very beginning was to have a guy who served 30-something years in the CFD as a ground-level, blue-collar grunt type, and started that way and retired that way.”
So, while there’s no reason to doubt that Mouch will continue to be a valued member of the “Chicago Fire” team going forward, Stolte had no qualms about debunking the fan theory that his character might be put in charge of Truck 81.
