The Reagans are a tight-knit group of law enforcement personnel who solve crimes and keep the streets of New York a little safer on the CBS crime procedural Blue Bloods. The show has been a staple of Friday night television since 2010, and as it’s been renewed for an 11th season, it’s safe to say we’ll see plenty more of the Reagans for quite some time.
After all, there are many more stories to tell, such as seeing how Joe Hill will factor into future seasons. At some point, we may even finally get an episode explaining why Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) has a fire helmet behind his desk. You’ve probably seen it so often you forgot it was there, sitting alongside various other accolades and memorabilia a police commissioner would naturally accumulate over the course of his career.
But what does the fire helmet have to do with anything? As far as we know, Frank never worked in the FDNY. Well, there are a couple of possible explanations fans have concocted. None of these are canon, so take them with a grain of salt, but they may explain this long-mysterious Blue Bloods situation.
Frank Reagan’s fire helmet is likely there for a sentimental reason
No backstory has ever been given about the fire helmet in Blue Bloods, but as with most things in pop culture without an explanation, that hasn’t stopped fans from speculating endlessly.
Redditor u/JerseyJedi offers their opinion by stating, “My guess is that when Frank became Commissioner, the FDNY probably sent it as a goodwill token.” Although that’d be a little anticlimactic, it would certainly make sense for the FDNY to try to establish a good relationship with a new police commissioner.
Another Redditor, u/srslyfulminant, provides a theory that would give the helmet a little more special significance to Frank. They claim, “I think it could be his own private 9/11 Memorial.” Redditor u/Papabear71 dives deeper into this explanation by asserting, “I like to think that the helmet probably belonged to [a] fallen friend in the NYFD and Frank has it on display to [honor] that friendship.” The idea the fire helmet belonged to one of Frank’s friends who passed away on 9/11 would certainly imbue it with greater meaning. Perhaps it could even open the door for a heart-wrenching flashback episode in whihc we see the friendship between Frank and this unknown friend.
Of course, these are just theories. The actual explanation could be something entirely different. Considering Tom Selleck believes Blue Bloods has a lot of life left in it, we should hopefully be in for plenty more years of ride-alongs with the Reagans, and may some day get to the bottom of this desk-borne mystery.