| “ | Have you ever thought about how many things in our lives are all about timing? Strike a match, a gust of wind, a floating ember. Timing decides if that ember burns out or if it turns into a full-fledged forest fire. Timing dictates so much about your family, your job, your friends. So often, it's all determined by being in the right place at the right time. Or at the wrong time. What if today never happened? What if you showed up late or called in sick or didn't say the thing you needed to say to the person you needed to say it to? What if your timing was off? Would it change things? A little? A lot? Could a matter of minutes, or seconds, change your life forever? | ” |
Every Second Counts is the eighth episode of the first season and the 8th overall episode of Station 19.
Short Summary[]
Ripley interviews each member of the Station 19 crew to determine whether Andy or Jack should be given the role of captain. Meanwhile, a mom's day out on a party bus takes a turn for the worst and Captain Pruitt continues his treatment.
Full Summary[]
Carla arrives late on Mary's party bus because her kid flushed something down the toilet. Her manicure got ruined fishing it out. Susan is surprised she had time for a manicure. Normally, she'd be taking her daughter to hockey right now. She almost feels naughty. Mary fills glasses with champagne. Carla puts her phone away. They all take a glass and toast to mom's day off. The tired driver of the bus is distracted and takes a wrong turn.
Andy and Ryan are enjoying some morning sex. She loves their little morning routine. He wants to leave using the stairs instead of the window. Andy will allow that once her father's strong enough, but the chemo's taking it out of him. She wants to head to work to have a unity talk with the team before Frankel comes for the peer reviews. They might help her after her Incinerator fail. Ryan's happy to continue their routine even if she doesn't make Captain. She wants both.
JJ and Dean are kissing in bed, but he has to leave for work. She suggests he take a sick day, but he doesn't play hooky. Also, he has three days off after this shift. She asks him to promise her he'll be safe. He kisses her.
Pruitt's at the hospital for another round of chemo. He would rather be at the station to give his valuable opinions. Nobody at the station knows Jack, Andy, or the station itself like he does. The cancer hasn't taken away his ability to assess character and leadership. His thoughts should still count.
Ben is waiting for Frankel in the conference room, but he's surprised when Ripley shows up. He's taken over since she was too biased. He wants to get his own sense of each candidate. Ben doubts his rookie opinion is valuable. Ripley says it is. Ben expected this to feel more normal. Ripley wants Ben to consider him a clean slate. He wants him to paint a picture, starting with this morning.
That morning, Jack and Ben notice that Dean is tired because JJ does not slow down. He uses something to wipe out his hangover. He assures the guys he's good to work. JJ drops by to bring Dean his watch. She wants to go check the bedroom, but Jack tells her it's off limits for civilians. Dean goes to walk JJ out.
Andy's talking to Maya about the fun she's having with Maya. Maya thinks she's grabbing onto the past like a warm, fuzzy security blanket because everything else is spiralling out of control around her. Andy says things with Ryan are not secret, but she's not exactly broadcasting it either. They enter the kitchen, where Jack is scolding Dean for allowing JJ in the bunk area. Dean reminds Jack he's not one to talk.
The team sits down for breakfast. Victoria wants to hear about Travis' date with Grant. Travis didn't go yet. Victoria is very disappointed. Jack and Andy ask for the team's attention. They wanted to thank the team in advance for their honest reviews. They appreciate them taking the time. They don't need to pick sides. Maya will, though. The team has to leave to answer a call.
Ben tells Ripley it was a party bus crash. Ripley asks him to back up to the first call of the shift. Ben says the other MVC was a single victim, a nice man named Peter.
Peter tells the team he accidentally put his car in drive instead of reverse, so he drove into a dumpster. He was driving to the bakery to get croissants for his wife. He was trying to get back before she'd wake up. His neck and back hurt a bit, so he called them to hitch a ride to the hospital. Dean concludes that the engine of the car is intact so no danger of fire. As Victoria and Jack load Peter into the aid car, he wonders if he'll be back in time for American Bake-off. The team loves the show, too.
As they're heading back to the station, Maya reminds Ben that Andy helped him train when he first joined the team. Andy asks her to stop campaigning. Maya says she's just shining a light on Andy's Captain-material truth. Andy says the peer reviews are out of their control. The engine comes across an MVC. Ben calls dispatch while Andy informs the other vehicles. Ben wonders if the aid car will have to stop with Peter in it. Andy seems to think so since the most dangerous thing with an MVC is people bleeding out in minutes. Ben is informed that Station 23 is 8 minutes out. That's too long, so they decide they are pulling over to help.
Ben tells Ripley that Andy made necessary decisions. The patients did not have the time to wait. She could not have predicted what happened in the end. Ripley asks about Jack. Ben says he did not agree with Andy.
Andy instructs the team to go and triage every patient. She asks Jack to stay with Peter and monitor him. They'll have to make due with their one aid car for all the victims until backup arrives. Jack says their aid car should be taking Pete to the hospital according to protocol. This is Station 23's call. Ben agrees that the victims need the supplies more. Jack continues to resist, but Andy tells him Captain's orders.
Dean and Andy tend to Carla, who's trapped under the bus. Susan is pierced by a metal bar still attached to the bus. They'll need to trim it with a saw. Someone covers the dead driver with a blanket. Susan should have taken her daughter to hockey.
Ben, Dean, and Andy distance themselves from the bus. They need to lift it to free Carla, but it'll hurt Susan more if they don't free her first. Since the bus is compressing Carla's wounds, it buys them time to free Susan first. They'll re-assess in case Carla deteriorates.
Andy fetches supplies from the aid car. Jack still wants to drive Peter to the hospital, but Andy refuses to let the aid car go. She also can't spare someone to drive. Peter wishes he could help somehow. Travis and Andy also come looking for supplies.
It's Victoria's turn with Ripley. He has someone bring them some coffee. Ripley honestly says that after seeing today's incident report, he's going to need some convincing to hand Jack or Andy the keys to the castle. They broke protocol. Victoria disagrees. She wants to know if this is an incident debriefing or peer review since he seems to be focusing on this one call. He thinks a call as divisive as this one lends the opportunity to assess the candidates. She says it was one call. He says it wasn't a clean one and inquires whose fault that was. She tells him it was his.
Maya, Travis, and Victoria are working on Mary, whose leg is broken. They can only reduce it so much. Suddenly, the bus's engine starts sparking. Maya goes to take care of it. Andy instructs to have all stable patients moved 20 feet away from the bus.
Andy goes back to the aid car for the trauma box. Peter wishes he could do something and offers to let Jack take his gurney. Jack says he'll grab a release form.
While Maya assesses the sparks, Travis and Victoria tend to the stable patients. Victoria gives Mary a sedative. There are 6 stable patients. Carla and Susan are still critical and stuck to the bus.
Ben starts sawing through the metal, but he needs to stop to let it cool down. Dean inquires about their kids. Susan says she always takes her daughter to hockey. If she dies, no one will take her. Isabella will get a scholarship, so if Susan dies and no one pushes Isabella, she'll lose her prospects. Carla reminds her the trip is not to blame. Ben starts sawing again.
Andy checks on the other victims. Mary is losing quite a lot of blood. Andy takes over from Victoria so she can go help Travis with a red tag. Susan calls for Mary and asks her to drive Isabella to hockey in case she dies. Carla already said she'd do it, but Carla's always late. Mary wants to get up. She's the glue of the group. Andy understands. Her people need her to be the Captain now, so Mary needs to keep still so Andy can go do her job. Dean informs Andy that Carla's pulse is thready, meaning they need a new plan. Mary tells her to go save her friends. Victoria takes over. She tries to reach Station 23.
Victoria tells Ripley that he's supposed to be all their bosses. It took Station 23 8 minutes to get there, meaning they were stuck there while they were actually supposed to be en route to the hospital for Peter. Station 19's response time is 5 minutes on a bad day. It sets the bar for response times. So, if Ripley can't get the rest of the department up to speed, at least he should not hand some subpar the keys to their castle. It has to be either Andy or Jack.
Travis sits down with Ripley. Ripley says he looks good, more like himself. Travis says it's hard to look your best at your husband's funeral. It's been almost a year. Ripley is glad that he found a new home here. Travis wants the conversation to just be about the Captain position. Ripley agrees and asks for his take. Travis has strong feelings about the importance of the role. Even the best of teams suffer under poor leadership. Ripley understands, given what happened.
Dean is worried about hypovolemic shock. They need to move faster, but Ben is moving as fast as he can. Susan and Dean urge Carla to stay awake for Lulu, her daughter. Andy decides to inflate the jack now. Ben has to try to keep the pole steady to minimize the damage to Susan. Jack arrives with the gurney. Andy tells him to go back to Peter. The jack is inflated.
Travis talks about Michael's death. He responded to a controlled fire. He saw an unprotected home, calculated, and decided he could get out. He did get out in time and saved people, but the wind changed. He even accounted for the flashover, but the water drop was off. The captain had miscalculated by 20 feet. That miscalculation cost Travis his husband. Travis knows better than to settle for a Captain who isn't sure or who might miscalculate.
Ben has freed Susan. They get her on a backboard. Susan assures Carla they will get her out, too. Maya further inflates the jack. They pull Carla out and apply pressure to her bleedings. They put Carla on the gurney as she starts crashing. Andy has Maya fetch the defib. Jack calls for the ring cutter from the trauma box. Dean goes to bring it. Meanwhile, Victoria leaves the triage zone to get lorazepam from the truck. Travis keeps Mary updated. Mary blames herself. She advocated for the bus. Travis says the driver made a wrong turn onto a freeway off-ramp. Mary fears the kids are going to lose their mothers because of her.
Ripley tells Travis he's sorry for Michael. Travis blames the Captain. He was supposed to keep Michael safe, but he didn't.
Maya and Andy resuscitate Carla. They get a rhythm. Finally, Station 23 arrives. Andy briefs the Captain on the patients and makes it clear there would only be recoveries if it weren't for them. She then returns to the aid car to tell Jack he's free to go, only to find him, Dean, and a restrained Peter with a bleeding hand. Jack tells her this is why they don't divert the aid car. Peter screams and asks they can go to the hospital now. Andy and Vic quickly close the doors.
Nurse John checks up on Pruitt. Pruitt wonders if he did Andy a disservice by not pushing her to do things outside of the station, but she always knew that that was what she wanted. He couldn't talk her out of anything, really.
Flashback to Andy ordering Jack to stick with Peter.
Maya is with Ripley now. She says they were spread thin, but Andy made it work. She recognizes people's talent and puts them where they fit best. That's how she runs the station. She thinks Jack was exactly where he was needed.
Peter and Jack are in the rig. Peter asks for water. He wants to get to the hospital sooner rather than later. He's worried about internal bleeding. Jack assures him that won't happen. They treat every patient like family, so they are family now. Andy comes to retrieve the trauma box.
Maya says Peter threw a curveball that nobody could have seen coming. Jack was the right guy in the right place and Andy instinctively knew to put him there.
Peter tells Jack to take his gurney. Jack wants to grab a release form but then notices that Peter's temperature has risen. Peter says his neck is stiffer. He asks for pain meds. Jack gives him ibuprofen and helps him to get off the gurney. They talk about Peter's marriage. It's still new. Peter says he's still learning things about his wife. Jack gets that. He tells Peter he'll be right back and leaves with the gurney. Peter then starts looking around.
Maya opens the hood with her axe. A colleague hits the engine with an extinguisher. Maya informs Andy that the sparks are out.
Ripley wonders if maybe Jack felt he was forced into a situation he instinctively felt could go wrong. Maya says nobody could have known that. Maya means no disrespect, but she thinks Ripley is all too willing to give Jack the benefit of the doubt. Ripley says he's not. Maya says things with Peter escalated quickly, but Jack handled it.
Jack returns to the aid car and finds Peter looking for something. The rig's a mess. He yells that he should be at the hospital to get his medicine. He really needs it. Jack has him sit down. Peter says he's really suffering and asks for morphine. Jack claims they ran out on their last call, but he offers lorazepam. He tries to keep Peter calm.
Maya insists that Andy displayed expert leadership. Ripley says the problems in the aid car only arose because of Andy's decision to ground it. Maya says it was an unusual incident. Ripley corners Maya and asks her if the problem happened because of Andy's decision. Maya concedes.
Dean is talking to Ripley. He's been at the station for a long time so he knows Andy and Jack well, but he and Jack go all the way back to the fire academy. They helped each other get through it. Jack's been his guy. Ripley asks why he should make Jack Captain. Dean says he thinks fast and is usually ten steps ahead of the rest.
Peter wants to help Jack look for the medicine, but Jack objects. Peter insists he's not a junkie. He needs his medicine now. He puts his hand through a glass cabinet door and gets his ring stuck. Jack tells him not to pull back, but Peter does anyway, resulting in a degloved finger. He screams in pain and attacks Jack. Jack restrains him and makes him focus on his finger. The ring is cutting off the blood supply, so if he doesn't calm down and let Jack help, he's going to lose it. He uses the communication system to ask for the ring cutter.
Dean tells Ripley that Jack makes you feel like you're on the winning team, which is why patients love him.
Jack tells Peter he's going to give him morphine, but only if he calms down. Peter consents. Jack grabs a package from the floor, but Peter knows it's the wrong color label. It's not morphine. Peter then starts fighting Jack as Dean arrives. Jack asks for help.
Dean tells Ripley that Jack can still surprise him.
Dean helps to restrain Peter. Dean asks how this happened. Jack admits he left Peter alone for a minute. He didn't know Peter was a seeker. Dean says that only makes it worse. Jack thinks this would not have happened if Andy hadn't grounded the aid car, but Dean says this is not on Andy.
Ripley concludes that Dean and Jack have worked side by side. Jack became his boss, so that must have caused some feelings. Dean says Jack made the change almost imperceptible. Ripley asks one more thing: who did Dean agree with on today's call?
Andy comes up and sees the predicament Jack and Dean are in. Jack says this is why they don't divert the aid car. He then administers a sedative. Andy and Victoria close the doors.
Dean says it was multi-faceted, but Ripley wants a clear answer. The question is if Andy shouldn't have grounded the aid car or if Jack should have handled the patient differently. Dean takes a sip of water and asks to repeat the question.
The victims are all loaded into ambulances. Mary tells Andy she saved her people. If Andy hadn't driven by, they would be dead. Andy is happy that she did.
Andy and Jack are sitting at the kitchen table. She can't believe everyone's giving peer reviews after that one particular call. She wonders where they would be if her dad hadn't gone down in that fire. They wouldn't be competing, but Jack is glad it happened. It made them find Pruitt's cancer. Jack wonders how long these things last.
Ben concludes his talk. Everyone pulled through and Peter's finger was saved. Ripley thanks him for his account. People tend to dance around the facts in peer reviews, but his rookie perspective was honest on all fronts. Andy broke protocol and Jack got in a physical altercation with a patient. Ben says both Andy and Jack welcomed him to the station. Ripley says that's the gig and refuses to let him say anything else. He asks Ben to send in Victoria on his way out.
Victoria says that may have come out wrong. She wants to dial it back and wants to talk about the ways Jack and Andy have consistently proven to be capable leaders, but he tells her he's done with her. He's the Chief of the entire Seattle Fire Department and the insubordination she showed tells him everything he needs to know about how she has been captained.
Travis says he filled in as Captain once and it was harder than he expected. Herrera made a call without hesitating. He couldn't have done the same. Jack couldn't see it. He disagreed, but Andy's way was the right way to go. She saved all those people. Neither he nor Jack would have done that. Travis thought he knew who he would recommend, but that was before he tried the job himself. Jack is excellent, but Andy thinks like a Captain. She is the better choice. It'd be a mistake to see it any other way.
Ripley picks up on Maya's dislike for Jack. Maya says he's the obvious choice. He's good, he aced his test, he's got seniority, he's good with the team, and doesn't micromanage. He's the guy who jumps into a pool with chemicals. Jack sees the call as a whole. Ripley says he's like a Captain. Ripley tells Maya that she is, too. She recognizes the strengths in the people around her. She's true to her mind. If a Lieutenant spot opens up, he expects her to throw her hat into the ring. He tells her she can go.
Dean tells Ripley Jack would make a great Captain, but today, he agreed with Andy.
One by one, the team joins Jack and Andy at the kitchen table. Victoria confesses she yelled at Ripley. They all think it didn't go well, except Travis. Maya even admits she said Jack's good, which is so unlike her. Travis said Ripley listened to the things he had to say. Victoria just hopes he listened to what she said, that it has to be either Jack or Andy. They have to keep it in the family. They all agree.
Still at the hospital, Pruitt says he's not exactly neutral in this matter. He has a vested interest in who takes over from him. Ripley offers to wait to hear his thoughts until after his treatment is over, but Pruitt is ready. He never misses a deadline. Pruitt wants Ripley to hear him out before he makes up his mind. Station 19 is his legacy. He wants what's best for the team he's build. Ripley asks who he recommends: Jack or Andy. Pruitt says neither one.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Jaina Lee Ortiz as Lieutenant Andy Herrera
- Jason George as Dr. Ben Warren
- Grey Damon as Lieutenant Jack Gibson
- Barrett Doss as Victoria Hughes
- Alberto Frezza as Ryan Tanner
- Jay Hayden as Travis Montgomery
- Okieriete Onaodowan as Dean Miller
- Danielle Savre as Maya Bishop
- Miguel Sandoval as Captain Pruitt Herrera
Guest Stars[]
- Brett Tucker as Fire Chief Lucas Ripley
- Michael Cassidy as Peter
- Brenda Song as JJ Lau
- Suzy Nakamura as Susan
- Linara Washington as Mary
- Annie Tedesco as Carla
Co-Starring[]
Rescues[]
Peter[]
Peter called for ambulance when he ran into a dumpster when he pulled forward instead of reversing. His neck and back hurt, which is why he called for help instead of driving for himself. While he was in the ambulance, they encountered another crash, so they stopped to help. Jack stayed in the ambulance to monitor Peter while the others went to help. When he left briefly to take the gurney out to them, he came back to find Peter had ransacked the ambulance looking for drugs. Jack returned and tried to calm him down, but Peter put his hand through a glass cabinet. His finger started swelling, so he called for the ring cutter. When Dean arrived, he found Jack restraining Peter. Dean took over restraint while Jack cut off his ring and bandaged up his hand. He was then transported to the hospital.
Party Bus[]
Several women rented a party bus for a Mom's Day Out. Their driver was overtired and started falling asleep at the wheel. He drove up an off-ramp and crashed. The driver was DOA. Mary had an injury to her leg. Carla was trapped under the overturned bus. Susan was impaled by a piece of the bus. They worked to stabilize each of those three, plus the other passengers. They set up triage where six of the eight women were treated. They had trouble stopping Mary's bleeding from her leg and had to free the other two. They cut through the bar that was impaling Susan and then lifted the bus enough to pull Carla out. Once Carla was out, she crashed. They were able to restore sinus rhythm. Sparks started coming off the engine, so they opened the hood and put them out. They were able to save all the patients from the bus and Station 23 arrived to take over.
Music[]
| Song | Performer | Scene |
|---|---|---|
| "Good Life" | Kari Kimmel |
|
| "See You Again" | Wild Culture (feat. Ramon) |
|
| "Fire with Fire" | Shirazee |
|
Notes and Trivia[]
Station 19 1x08 Promo "Every Second Counts" (HD) Season 1 Episode 8 Promo
- This episode scored 5.14 million viewers.[1]
- The table read for this episode took place on March 19, 2018.[source?]
- The concept of the episode is reminiscent of I Saw What I Saw.
Gallery[]
Episode Stills[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Quotes[]
See Also[]
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A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here. |
| Station 19 Season 1 | |||
| #01 | "Stuck" | #06 | "Stronger Together" |
| #02 | "Invisible to Me" | #07 | "Let It Burn" |
| #03 | "Contain the Flame" | #08 | "Every Second Counts" |
| #04 | "Reignited" | #09 | "Hot Box" |
| #05 | "Shock to the System" | #10 | "Not Your Hero" |
| << Grey's Anatomy, Season 14 | Season 2 >> | ||