The saga of Truck 81's unlikely crest is revealed in the second episode of Season 1, as former Firefighter Brian "Otis" Zvonecek (Yuri Sardarov) questions the reason for the truck having such a less-than-heroic animal as its mascot.
As the episode progresses, Otis is given a variety of explanations for the goatish crest. One tale claims the crest commemorates Truck 81's first fire call, made in response to a blaze at a goat farm in Chi-Town's Little Italy. Another legend claims the fire station used to keep a goat to trim its lawn. Yet another story links the image to the Curse of the Billy Goat, supposedly due to the owner of the Billy Goat Tavern cursing the Chicago Cubs' baseball team when his pet goat was once denied entrance to a game.
And the truth behind Truck 81's unique artwork?
As Otis learns from Chief Wallace Boden (Eamonn Walker), the crest was devised to honor the house's first chief and Boden's mentor, Billy "Goat" Bukanski. So, while the other crew's on "Chicago Fire" may have more mission-appropriate designs on their rides, Truck 81 can rightly lay claim to a crest with a truly historic Firehouse 51 pedigree.
