‘Chicago Fire’ Boss Explains Why Major Character Was Killed off in Season 8 Premiere

Chicago Fire changed forever in the Season 8 premiere! The NBC firefighter drama delivered a gut punch to fans and the crew of firehouse 51 after one of their own died in the factory explosion. Following the premiere episode, series showrunner Derek Haas spoke about what inspired the big death and how it will affect everyone for the rest of the season.

Spoilers ahead for Chicago Fire Season 8 premiere: “Sacred Ground”

The premiere saw the aftermath of the Season 7’s deadly cliffhanger, finding the firefighters racing to isolate themselves in a room in the basement before equipment exploded. Otis (Yuri Sardarov) did not make it to the room in time and was caught in the blast.

Despite Cruz (Joe Minoso) finding him and the team racing him to the hospital, his injuries were too severe and he died.

Haas said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that while the decision to write Otis off was difficult, it had to happen to move the story forward.

“It’s been a long time since we had a main character go,” he said.

“I’ve known Yuri since before Chicago Fire, since he was a junior in college,” Haas revealed. “We did a movie together that I wrote and produced back in 2011. He’s a great guy. But you think, ‘OK, what can I do that’s going to really put some teeth back into this show, in terms of these dangerous situations that we put our characters in?’ And you can only write them in and out of corners so many times before the audience just stops caring about the situation.”

The episode ended with the team gathering outside the firehouse as Boden (Eamonn Walker) unveiled a new memorial to the fallen firefighter.

The passing also seemed to hit Cruz the hardest, but Haas says everyone will see lasting effects from the big loss.

“We didn’t want to just write it off in the first episode and then forget that he existed. That’s not real life and that’s not the way it works,” Haas said. “So this time, I think even more so than we’ve done in previous iterations, we wanted to see how this affects different people in different ways and over a period of time.”

He continued: “Playing off that notion of tragedy takes time before you can get to the other side of it emotionally. That clock is different for different people. The way it affects Joe Cruz, his best friend and roommate, is going to be different than the way it affects Boden, who was his chief, and the way it affects Casey, who is his captain. And the way it affects Brett, who was also his roommate.

“To see those different elements and not cheapen them, and really make it have lasting effects, that’s what we’re doing,” he said.

Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.