‘Chicago Fire’ Newcomer Announces Surprise Exit After 6 Episodes

Rome Flynn is officially saying farewell to Firehouse 51. It was confirmed in the Mar. 27 episode of Chicago Fire that Flynn’s Derrick Gibson had been struggling with addiction and decided to leave. He was only introduced in at the beginning of the season after 51 saw him in action during a call while he was working at a different station. After they brought him on, it was clear that he was hiding something, but no one knew what until he confessed.

“Just like all the fans, I was sad to see Gibson leave,” Flynn said in an exclusive statement to Variety. “He was a character I very much enjoyed playing. I had a wonderful experience during my time on Chicago Fire and have great respect for the cast and crew and hope to team up with Dick Wolf again when the time is right.”

Flynn is Chicago Fire‘s latest departure, and likely not the last. His exit comes on the heels of Kara Killmer’s, who exited as Sylvie Brett in the Feb. 28 episode. Meanwhile, Alberto Rosende departed as Blake Gallo in the Season 12 premiere. As of now, it’s unclear if the series will introduce yet another new firefighter for 51, but hopefully Flynn is the final exit, at least for this season.

One more 51 newbie also recently exited the firehouse, as Wesam Keesh’s unfriendly paramedic Jared Lennox will no longer be threatening 51 with his many complaints. After becoming Violet’s new partner and her first under her new PIC role, Lennox quickly proved that he wasn’t 51 material when he kept questioning Violet and made complaints about her and the rest of the firehouse. Hallmark mainstay Jocelyn Hudon was cast as a recurring paramedic, however, according to Deadline, so this could be just the fresh start that Ambulance 61 needs.

It should be interesting to see how Chicago Fire moves on from Gibson and who may be replacing him. They haven’t been able to bring in a permanent replacement for Gallo, but it’s only just a matter of time. Fans will just have to tune in to new episodes of Chicago Fire on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC to see what happens. The wait for a new firefighter will surely be worth it, but fingers crossed the firehouse doesn’t lose anyone else.