Former South Shore Fire Chief William Bouma has been to plenty of banquets in his career, but never as part of a major network television show.

On Wednesday, Bouma will join the cast of Chicago Fire on NBC as an extra.

Bouma said he has friends with contacts in the casting department for the show and they provided the connection. He has to be at a hotel in Chicago at 6 a.m. Wednesday.

"The show was looking for extras who were part of the fire service," he said. "So when they called, I thought, well, why not?"

The scene in which Bouma will appear is a banquet for the Chicago Fire Department so Bouma expects a lot of extras to join him.

"There's probably doing to be a lot of people to take up space," he explained. "I'm just going to try and look good and do as I'm directed."

And, Bouma continued, it could lead to a speaking part down the line, but for now, he's happy to get the chance to participate in Chicago Fire.

"I absolutely love this show so this means a lot," he added.

Chicago Fire airs at 9 p.m. Wednesdays on WTMJ Channel 4. Bouma doesn't know when the episode will air, but Patch will update this story when we get that information.