# Firehouse (TV series)

Firehouse is a half-hour American drama/adventure series that aired on ABC. A mid-season replacement, it started airing on January 17, 1974, and was cancelled after its 13-episode run. The series ran on Thursdays from 8:30 to 9:00 p.m., with the last rerun episode aired on August 1, 1974. The series starred James Drury as Captain Spike Ryerson.

## Pilot movie

The series pilot was broadcast in 1973 on the ABC Movie of the Week and starred Richard Roundtree and Richard Jaeckel. The pilot concerned a formerly all-white firehouse learning to accept a black rookie firefighter. All racial difficulties were dropped from the series.
Richard Jaeckel was the only actor to appear in both the pilot movie and the series.

## Cast

* James Drury as Capt. Spike Ryerson
* Richard Jaeckel as Hank Myers
* Michael Delano as Sonny Caputo
* Billy Dalzell as Brad David
* Cal Dakin as Bill Overton

## Synopsis

Capt. Spike Ryerson acted as a father-figure to the young firefighters of Engine Company Number 23, of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Each episode had two stories, a fire to fight, and a rescue. Because of the 30 minute length there was not time to give depth to the characters, develop friendships, or discuss family life.

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Original release date |
| 1 | "Burst of Flame" | January 17, 1974 (1974-01-17) |
| Capt. Ryerson and his men race against time to save six people caught in an elevator in a blazing office building. |||
| 2 | "Sentenced to Burn" | January 24, 1974 (1974-01-24) |
| After rescuing a man from a mudslide, Capt. Ryerson and his men fight a fire at a prison and several are taken hostage by the convicts. |||
| 3 | "The Hottest Place in Town" | January 31, 1974 (1974-01-31) |
| Capt. Ryerson's men fight a devastating fire in a crowded new nightclub as well as the threat of rip-off artists in their own station house. |||
| 4 | "Trapped" | February 7, 1974 (1974-02-07) |
| After saving a man's new dump truck from fire, Capt. Ryerson and his men rush to a tunnel project. |||
| 5 | "Implosion" | February 14, 1974 (1974-02-14) |
| Capt. Ryerson and his men rescue a boy stuck in a heating duct, and then battle a spectacular oil refinery blaze. |||
| 6 | "The Treasure" | February 21, 1974 (1974-02-21) |
| After saving a pregnant woman trapped by downed high tension wires, Capt. Ryerson and his men rush to an old decaying mansion which is ablaze. |||
| 7 | "Strike, Spare and Burn" | February 28, 1974 (1974-02-28) |
| Capt. Ryerson and his men respond to a fire at an old theater building where a vault filled with potentially explosive nitrate film threatens the entire neighborhood. |||
| 8 | "Tide of Terror" | March 7, 1974 (1974-03-07) |
| After an ill-fated date with his girlfriend, Caputo joins his colleagues to help rescue a young woman trapped in swirling water under an ocean pier. |||
| 9 | "No Way Out" | March 14, 1974 (1974-03-14) |
| Capt. Ryerson and his men save a boy from being buried alive, and also fight a potentially devastating fire in a laundry. |||
| 10 | "A Gift for Grumper" | March 21, 1974 (1974-03-21) |
| Capt. Ryerson and his men struggle to save priceless art from a museum fire, not realizing that their friend, arson inspector "Grumper" Barkham is trapped in the blaze. |||
| 11 | "Randall's Pride" | March 28, 1974 (1974-03-28) |
| Capt. Ryerson's men save a girl who has driven over a cliff after an argument with her boyfriend, then respond to a fire which is destroying a horse stable. |||
| 12 | "The Watches of the Night" | April 4, 1974 (1974-04-04) |
| Capt. Ryerson's men battle a blaze in a slum apartment, then rescue partygoers at a top dress designer's first night celebration. |||
| 13 | "False Alarm" | April 11, 1974 (1974-04-11) |
| Capt. Ryerson is hospitalized for a possible heart ailment, and his worried men are called upon to save a young man suffering from a drug overdose, as well as battle a blaze in a junk-filled garage. |||