Crook and Ladder

"Crook and Ladder" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons' eighteenth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 6, 2007. It was written by Bill Odenkirk and directed by Lance Kramer.

Marge, following the advice of a parenting magazine too literally, takes away Maggie's pacifier, leading Maggie to destroy the inside of the Simpson home. Marge thought she's doing this for Maggie's good but Lisa couldn't believe her mother listens to a magazine that turn out to be a Larry Flynt Publication. The family runs out of spare pacifiers so Marge decides to send Homer to get Maggie a new pacifier, but can not find the right brand, and then Maggie cries. Luckily, Santa's Little Helper gives Maggie his squeaky toy, which quickly calms Maggie down, but also leads to Homer being unable to sleep. He takes sleeping pills and becomes, in Bart's words, "every boy's dream: a fat, suggestible zombie dad".

One night, Bart and Milhouse take advantage of him by having him take them places. Homer then wakes up while driving, though is initially unresponsive, causing him to crash into the Fire Department, injuring all the firemen and landing them in the hospital. While they recuperate, Homer, Apu, Moe, and Principal Skinner become volunteer firefighters (although Springfield already has a volunteer firefighting program as seen in "Homer the Heretic", "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons", and "Brother's Little Helper"). Mayor Quimby refuses to train them beyond a standard textbook or accept any other volunteers (as Carl and Lenny find out the hard way). The new team, however, is miraculously efficient. After the first few fires, though they initially insist against it, they are rewarded for rescuing the buildings.