The Rorcheks' home is vandalized after the family renews a friendship with an ex-firefighter (Brendan Burns) who was crippled in an accident he blames on Ted.
Danny's birthday party sparks reminiscences about the youth, seen in flashbacks, and occasions a showing of the department's video-tape history of fire disasters.
The department wants to present a rescue citation to a young boy who has been identified as a hero, but in truth the boy proves to be the one who has been setting a series of small blazes.