Job changes, life changes, and death are inescapable on Chicago Fire, the long-running firefighter drama that launched NBC’s One Chicago franchise. More than a dozen series regulars have left the show so far, and such exits take a toll, even on the actors.

Here’s how all the former Chicago Fire stars made their exits — and, for those whose departures were explained, why.

 

 

Reeves was only a series regular for Chicago Fire’s first season, during which her doc character was murdered by a drug trafficker. Additional details are scant, but by all reports, the decision to let Reeves go was merely a creative one.

 

 

Shay, a paramedic on the show, died in the show’s Season 3 premiere, following a building explosion. The producers wanted to amplify the show’s emotional stakes and depict the dangers of first-responder life, as Matt Olmstead told Entertainment Weekly.

 

 

Later in Season 3, Mills chose to leave Chicago to help out with a family restaurant in Chicago. Olmstead told EW the character’s journey was at a stopping point, and for the record, Barnett revealed to Digital Spy he was “really sad to be let go” from the show.

Madison (pictured at left) departed Chicago Fire in Season 4 as her paramedic character had an alcoholism relapse. Olmstead informed The Hollywood Reporter it was a creative decision for shock value, but said he and the other producers “liked the actress a lot, and she did a great job.”

 

 

Borrelli’s firefighter days ended when an explosion partially blinded him in Season 5. “There are times when people get injured, or really bad things happen to them, and we don’t follow through on that, and sometimes we feel like we have to pull the trigger on certain things,” executive producer Michael Brandt explained to TVLine.

Though she has guest-starred on the show since, Raymund ended her full-time Chicago Fire employment in Season 6, as Dawson left Chicago for relief efforts in Puerto Rico. On social media, Raymund told fans it was time for her to “move on to the next chapter in life.”

A mattress factory explosion claimed the life of Otis in Season 8. But that demise was Sardarov’s decision as he told TV Insider: “There came a point I told [producer Derek Haas] and said, ‘I think I’m ready to go.’ It was my decision.”

Foster, a paramedic on the show, exited the narrative as she reapplied to medical school in Season 8. So far, however, it’s unclear why Ilonzeh exited Chicago Fire — and whether it was her choice to do so.

Rae was a series regular for Season 9, but she left after just nine episodes due to “private reasons,” as Haas told EW, as Mackey got transferred to another firehouse. In an Instagram post, Rae said her time on the show came to “an unexpected end.”