Who Dies in Chicago Fire? The Most Shocking Deaths We’re Still Not Over

All the Characters Who’ve Died in Chicago Fire

With more than a dozen seasons and hundreds of characters, there have been a fair share of deaths in Chicago Fire. But who’s died on Chicago Fire over the years and which character could be at risk next? Read on for the One Chicago deaths we’re still not over.

Chicago Fire is NBC’s drama series following the personal and professional lives of firefighters, paramedics and other rescue personnel at the Chicago Fire Department’s fictional Firehouse 51. The series — which premiered in 2012 and is created by Dick Wolf, the same mind behind the Law & Order and FBI franchises — is the first show in NBC’s One Chicago franchise, which also includes Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med. 

“Obviously the character’s leaving, you want to maximize the effect, and it’s a very dangerous business; that’s why that methodology was chosen,” Wolf said at a Television Critics Association press tour panel in 2015 of killing off original Chicago Fire character Leslie Shay in Season 3. “[Character deaths] are always bittersweet, but you’re always looking for ways to do them that are unexpected, or in this case was a major cliffhanger.”

So who’s died on Chicago Fire? Read on for the most shocking and heartbreaking Chicago Fire deaths we’re still reeling over. 

How did Julie Die in Chicago Fire?

Julie, the biological mother of Sylvie Brett, died as a result of a complication during the birth of her daughter in Season 8, Episode 18, “I’ll Cover You.” In the episode, Brett, who was estranged from Julie for most of her life, finds herself in the hospital as her biological mother gives birth. Julie dies in the birth, however, the baby survives. Brett becomes the older half-sister of the baby girl. In the next episode, Season 8, Episode 19, “Light Things Up,” Brett attends Julie’s funeral with her adoptive family before returning to the hospital to check on the girl. Julie’s husband, Scott, unable to understand how his wife died, offers the child to Brett, who later convinces him that he can raise the child alone. In Season 8, Episode 20, “51’s Original Bell,” Scott, who ultimately decided to keep the baby, reveals that he named his daughter Amelia, which was Julie’s middle name. He also tells Brett that he wants her to be a part of her younger sister’s life. 

How did Otis Zvonecek die in Chicago Fire?

Brian “Otis” Zvonecek, the driver of Truck 81 and a firefighter with Firehouse 51, died in the line of duty in Season 8, Episode 1, “Sacred Ground.” The episode saw Firehouse 51 report to a fire at a mattress factory — later named the Arnow Mattress Fire — which spirals out of control. Otis died of an explosion in the fire after a boiler blew p and he was hit with an internal backdraft. As Otis was hit, he slammed shut a steel door, which saved the rest of the Firehouse 51 crew and the factory workers at the cost of his life. He was rushed to Lakeshore Memorial, where he told Joe Cruz in Russian as his last words, “Brother, I will be with you always.” Cruz later named his son, Brian “Otis” Cruz, in honor of Otis. 

How did Benny Severide die in Chicago Fire?

Benjamin “Benny” Severide,” Lieutenant Kelly Severide’s father and a former firefighter who worked with Wallace Boden and Henry Mills, died from a stroke in Season 7, Episode 6, “All The Proof.” Kelly, his younger half-sister sister, Katie, and others from Firehouse 51 attended Benny’s funeral, as the Chicago Fire Department honored Benny for his services and Severide placed a medal that Katie found on his casket.

How did Anna Turner die in Chicago Fire?

Anna Turner, Lieutenant Kelly Severide’s girlfriend, died in Season 5, Episode 20, “Carry Me.” Anna, who was diagnosed with leukemia, met Severide after he donated his bone marrow to her and the two started dating soon after. Anna’s health took a turn, however, in “Carry Me.” Though Severide asked the doctors to help Anna, her do not resuscitate order prevented them from doing so as she died with Severide by her side. After her death, Anna had a hospital wing named after her thanks to Severide. 

How did Danny Borrelli die in Chicago Fire?

Danny Borrelli, the older brother of Jimmy Borrelli and a firefighter with Engine 67, died in the line of duty in Season 4, Episode 22, “When the Collapse Started.” The episode saw Danny go back inside a collapsed building when he thought he heard a noise of someone still alive, but no one was there. He was crushed in the building by falling debris as his brother, Jimmy, tried to save him. 

How did Wallace Boden Sr. die in Chicago Fire?

Wallace Boden Sr., the father of Chief Wallace Boden, died from Stage Four cancer in Season 3, Episode 14, “Call It Paradise.” Boden Sr. reveals to his son that he has cancer and doesn’t plan to fight it in Season 3, Episode 13, “Three Bells.” In the next episode, Boden offers his father information on an experimental drug that could save him but Wallace Sr. turns him down and tells him that he would rather die than live. Respecting his father’s decision, Boden throws him a Winter Luau at Molly’s. Boden and his father bond at the party, but when he puts his son, Terrance, to bed, Boden returns to the living room to find his father unresponsive sitting in a chair with a photo album of his family in his hands. 

How did Leslie Shay die in Chicago Fire?

Leslie Shay, a paramedic at Firehouse 51, died in Season 3, Episode 1, “Always,” after a building collapsed with her and other members of Firehouse 51 still inside of it. The building collapsed in the Season 2 finale — Season 2, Episode 22, “Real Never Waits” — though viewers didn’t find out who died until the premiere of Season 3. The Season 3 premiere picks up where the Season 2 finale left off as the members of Firehouse 51 emerge from the rubble one by one and reveal that they’re alive. After all of the firefighters are accounted for, Lieutenant Kelly Severides searches for Shay and her paramedic partner, Gabriela Dawson.

He finds Dawson administering CPR on Shay, who is pale and covered in blood. Severide joins Dawson in their attempt to revive Shay, but it’s too late. She’s already dead. Chicago Fire later reveals that the fire that caused Shay’s death was done by Trenton Lamont, a serial arsonist who was stalking her and also set a fire that injured Chief Wallace Boden and killed Henry Mills — Peter Mills’ father — 20 years before. Lamon is later killed by Antonio Dawson in an attempt to kill Gabriela. 

How did Rebecca Jones die in Chicago Fire?

Rebecca Jones, a firefighter candidate on Truck 81 at Firehouse 51, died by suicide in Season 2, Episode 18, “Until Your Feet Leave the Ground.” Jones committed suicide after her father — Chicago Fire Department Deputy District Chief Lionel Jones — ordered Captain Matthew Casey and Chief Wallace Boden to fire jones, so he could put her behind a desk, where he believes she will be safer. Jones — who came from a family of firefighters and whose three brothers were lieutenants with the Chicago Fire Department — had faced criticism from her father her whole life over her dream to become a firefighter due to her father’s negative opinion of female firefighters.

“Until Your Feet Leave the Ground” sees Jones explaining to Christopher Herrmann that her father is overprotective of her because her mother died in a car crash where Jones was the sole survivor. She also tells Herrmann that she plans to take the desk job her father offered her. The episode ends with Jones writing a letter to Gabriela Dawson and leaving it on her kitchen table before walking away. In the final scene of the episode, Dawson receives a call from police telling her that they found Jones’ body and that she had committed suicide.

How did Hallie Thomas die in Chicago Fire?

Dr. Hallie Thomas, Lieutenant Matthew Casey’s ex-fiancé and a doctor at Lakeshore Memorial, died in Season 1, Episode 22 of Chicago Fire after the firefighters of Firehouse 51 are called to the scene of a fire at Hallie’s clinic, Tru-Care Family Clinic. Once he arrives at the clinic, Casey — who had gotten back together with Hallie just episodes before — notices Hallie’s car in the parking lot and rushes into the fire.

He finds her unconscious in the back of the clinic and drags her outside to safety with the help of Lieutenant Kelly Severide. Hallie — who is badly burned and not breathing — is rushed to the emergency room as paramedic Gabriela Dawson struggles to revive her in the ambulance. The episode ends with a doctor informing Casey that Hallie didn’t survive. 

A medical examiner’s report reveals in Season 1, Episode 23, that Hallie was killed before the clinic was set on fire. An investigation found that she was struck in the head and killed by criminal Timothy Campbell before the fire after Hailie accidentally discovered that the clinic was being used as a drug trafficking hub. Campbell was later shot and killed by Chicago Police Department Sergeant Hank Voight. 

How did Andy Darden die in Chicago Fire?

Andrew “Andy” Darden, a firefighter at Firehouse 51 assigned to Truck 8, died in the first scene of the Chicago Fire pilot. Darden was killed in the line of duty in Season 1, Episode 1, when he and Lieutenant Matthew Casey climb up a ladder to the top floor of a burning house, where Darden breaks a window and enters the home before he’s instructed to do so. Realizing that the conditions are unstable, Casey calls for Darden to fall back but he’s too far into the smoke. Downstairs, Lieutenant Kelly Severide realizes that there’s no vent for the fire to escape. Seeing the thick black smoke get sucked upstairs, Severide shouts for Darden and Casey to get down, but it’s too late. Darden — who is the first character to die in Chicago Fire — is killed in the explosion as Casey watches him become engulfed in flames from outside the window. 

In his will, Darden put Casey — who attended firefighter academy with him and whose badge number consecutive to his — as the legal guardian of his sons, Griffin and Ben, should he and his wife, Heather, die. While Heather was in prison, Griffin and Ben lived with Casey. In Season 10, Casey leaves Chicago Fire to move to Oregon to become a guardian to Griffin and Ben, who are now teenagers, after Heather is sent to jail again.