Coordinated by prolific stuntman Rick LeFevour, the three-story, triple-fireball high fall in episode 6 (aired March 3) of Chicago Fire’s third season marked one of the most spectacular and complex stunts the NBC drama has ever attempted. A breakdown:

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• 1. Metal boxes on either side of the platform protect both the building walls and stuntman Kenny Richards from two propane mortars set to explode. A third is set up just off to the side of the platform.
• 2. Richards, portraying a man jumping for his life from a burning apartment, runs up an out-of-view platform (specially built so he can leap over a knee-high ledge) and out a window filled with breakaway glass.
• 3. Just as Richards crashes through the window, an effects coordinator pushes a button to ignite the mortars.
• 4. Soaring with his chest and head up, Richards flails for a moment so that viewers know it’s a real human being, as three enormous fireballs explode behind him.
• 5. Plummeting three stories, Richards executes a half roll with his shoulder, middrop, so he lands on his back, the safest impact position, when he hits an inflated bag on the ground.

The Final Result

Read more about LeFevour’s storied stunt career in this Bryan Smith profile.