How getting fired was the change Buck needed for growth (9-1-1)

It's been a while since I've watched the first season of 9-1-1 but I've always noticed that this season has continued to receive mixed reviews. I really like the first season, from watching those 10 episodes you get to see these characters from the beginning and see how they grow into the characters that we all know and love. And Evan "Buck" Buckley definitely needed that growth, which he got after he was fired.

He started out in the first episode as an obnoxious, hot-headed, self-centered jerk who didn't take his job as a probationary firefighter seriously. Which also included him taking the ladder truck out unauthorized to hook up with random women. However, Buck's turning point was after Fire Captain Robert "Bobby" Nash fired him. It was after Buck took the truck out yet again to hook up with the "Snake Hoarder" lady. But what made it such an important turning point was that despite being fired, there was an opportunity for him to help. And he did.

So, when Police Sergeant Athena Grant needed help finding a little girl whose home was in the process of being robbed. He was contacted by firefighter/paramedic Henrietta "Hen" Wilson to help which required him to use the fire engine yet again unathorized. But this time in order to help.

Although he was fired, he still willingly helped without expecting anything in return. Yet he was rewarded for his effort. Because after he gave a very impassioned speech about respecting their job to Bobby, he ended up getting his job back. Getting fired really made a positive impact on Buck. He instantly grew from that experience. Because if he hadn't been fired, I think he probably would have continued to not take the job seriously. And yeah, he would have eventually been fired but I doubt there would have been an opportunity to redeem himself. So, getting fired early on was exactly what he needed in his journey of growth to becoming a better person.

(9-1-1 season 1 episode 1: Pilot)