The life of Tommy Gavin, a New York City firefighter is fraught with ghosts, literally and figuratively, as, haunted by the sights and memories of firefighters and civilians lost, he tries to rise to the challenge of rescuing lives every day from the dangers of fire while trying to keep his own life from unraveling.
Chief Reilly must get to the bottom of a claim made by a retired gay firefighter about the homosexuality of several deceased 9/11 firefighters. Tommy agrees to keep surveillance on Jimmy's widow in order to distract himself from the absence of his own family, but learns some interesting information while on his watch. Meanwhile, unwanted pressure comes to the probie when his first rescue leads to newfound hero status.
Tommy actively tries to cause trouble for the business and personal life of estranged wife Janet's new boyfriend. Chief Reilly has an incident with another firefighter, prompting a discussion on whether or not he should be suspended. Meanwhile, Lou decides to show some of his poetry to the other firefighters.
Tommy's outing with his dead cousin's widow becomes awkward when she shows interest in intimacy towards him. Franco's life is impacted by an ex who returns to his life with a child she claims is his. Meanwhile, on the call of an accident, Tommy sees that one of the victims involved in the accident is his daughter Colleen.
Tommy realizes that an experience involving his father is responsible for steering his own actions, ones which helped break up his marriage and family. Franco decides to make a change in his life after witnessing an untimely accident. Meanwhile, Chief Reilly's career preservation comes at the expense of a family secret.
Tommy tries to coax Janet into leaving Roger, but she is quickly unconvinced of his sincerity when she discovers his new love playmate. Sean is convinced by the other guys to date a woman who, as they are well aware, is actually a man. Meanwhile, Franco finds his paternal instincts seriously kicking in.
Chief Reilly gives Tommy the lowdown on how to squeeze more out of his vacation time request. Tommy uses some of his downtime on a home deck construction project, and ends up getting somewhat closer to a reconcilliation with Janet.
Tommy tries to get through the bizarre dealings with his father while, at the same time, endure heated opinions from Janet over Colleen's new activities. Meanwhile, Sean and Mike inadvertently cause a stationwide bet among the fire crew.
Tommy learns that Janet has been keeping a heavy secret from him and tries to determine the aftermath. Chief Reilly tries to ready the station for the arrival of the woman who will be replacing him. Meanwhile, Sean and Franco help Tommy find the one responsible for Billy's death.
Tommy goes to Uncle Teddy for help when he finds himself powerless to help Janet with some financial problems. Laura tries to get some recognition from her male counterparts at the station, but they persist in making things rough for her. Meanwhile, Mike is given a free place to stay in lieu of the station house sofa, but learns the price tag may not be free after all.
Tommy tries to make sense of his disjointed life and, in the process, begins to dive head on into the dangers of the job to a frightening degree. He is soon, however, forced into clarity when he has to help out his father in the wake of a family crisis. Meanwhile, Lou's hunch about his own impending doom following the acknowledgment to his wife of marital infidelity turns out to be wrong.
Tommy tries to help Janet cover the cost of house repairs by going to Uncle Teddy and his associate to try and pick up some supplemental funds. Franco begins to lose his grasp on ably raising his daughter and handling the job when his father suffers a stroke. Meanwhile, the firehouse comes under fire when its tribute to the firefighters of 9/11 takes a disastrous turn.
As the annual NYPD vs FDNY hockey game looms near, Tommy tries to figure out how to avoid taking a beating from the policemen who would surely love to knock him around on the ice.