4 most heartbreaking Chicago Fire, Med and PD deaths served up this season

Another season has come and gone for the One Chicago franchise, and as always, the latest runs of Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago P.D. delivered no shortage of emotional highs and lows. 

Among the lows of Chicago Fire season 14, Chicago Med season 11, and Chicago PD season 13 were a series of unexpected character deaths that once again reminded us no one is ever really safe in the One Chicago franchise. Whether they came as shocking twists or heartbreaking goodbyes, each loss left a lasting impact on the characters and viewers alike, with some proving more devastating than others.

Now, in no particular order, let’s take a look back at the four most heartbreaking deaths the latest seasons of Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD served up. 

James Frost

James Frost was not a great guy. Let’s just get that out there right now because to some it might feel strange to include the character on the list of heartbreaking deaths given all we knew about James and what he put his son, John, through. It’s not James who made this death heartbreaking, but his son. 

The arrival of his parents opened a lot of old wounds for Frost, but he wanted to try to give them a second chance, especially knowing his dad’s health was not the best following his MS diagnosis. We’d come to learn, though, that James did not have MS but rather a tumor that was causing symptoms that mirrored MS. Upon learning the truth, Frost helped get his father in a clinical trial, but the treatment was ineffective. 

As if learning that the trial was not working was not bad enough, Frost would also come to learn that his dad knew about his relationship with Ainsley and never stepped in to protect him from the inappropriate relationship. This discovery shook Frost even harder and intensified our dislike for the character. 

Sadly, Frost did not have much time to process this revelation before his father’s health took a turn for the worse. In the end, Frost forgave his father and was there by his side when he took his final breaths. 

Bob Ruzek

It was truly not a good season for father-and-son duos this year in the One Chicago universe. Back in season 12, it was revealed that Ruzek’s dad, Bob, had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and we knew that the character’s time officially had an expiration date put on it. While we didn’t know when exactly Bob’s passing might come, this diagnosis made it clear that the character’s death would eventually come to fruition sometime in the future.

Even though we knew that Bob was ill, that did not prepare us for Bob’s quick decline in season 13. 

Early in the season, it was established that Bob’s health had taken a turn for the worse and that his doctors had warned Ruzek that he likely had months to live. Knowing this, we anticipated that Bob’s death would come sometime in the final episodes of Chicago PD season 13, and that ended up being the case. 

The Chicago PD team bid farewell to Bob in episode 19 in an episode that pulled at our heartstrings and was beautifully crafted. The episode saw Ruzek revisiting a cold case connected to a VHS tape he found in his father’s belongings. At one point in the case, Ruzek was attacked from behind and suffered temporary memory loss, which gave him a glimpse into what his father had been going through in the last several months following his diagnosis. 

After cracking the case with help from his team, Ruzek ended the episode sitting at his father’s bedside and assuring him it was okay to let go as Bob passed away peacefully. 

Bert Goodwin

It’s not often that two One Chicago shows feature character deaths with strong similarities, but we saw this happen with Chicago Med season 11 and Chicago PD season 13, with the two shows both featuring the death of a long-time character suffering from Alzheimer’s. The difference between the two shows’ approaches to the storyline was that Chicago Med took much more time with the storyline, showcasing the real impact the disease has not only on the individual suffering from it but also on the loved ones in their life. 

While Bob Ruzek’s death came relatively quickly after we learned of his diagnosis, Chicago Med took its time through exploring the effects of Alzheimer’s. Bert was first diagnosed with Alzheimer’s back in season 9, and we gradually saw the impact of the disease on his health and relationships as his memory began to slowly fail him. 

By season 11’s arrival, it was clear that Bert’s health was getting much worse. The sixth episode of the season saw Bert lashing out at Goodwin in a way he never had during their years of marriage, which shook her to the core. Shortly after, Bert took a fall, and a CT scan showed he had a brain bleed. Due to his DNR, though, there was nothing the doctors could do other than make him comfortable. 

A few episodes later in the season, Chicago Med said goodbye to Bert in an emotional episode that saw him pass away surrounded by his family with Goodwin and their three kids. 

Macy Vasquez

We end our list with the most shocking death that the One Chicago shows served up this season. That death being the tragic passing of Macy Vasquez during the 2026 One Chicago crossover event. 

During the One Chicago crossover, Macy’s unit responded alongside 51 when a 911 call came through about a passenger plane that had gone missing and was heading for Chicago. The units were called to the scene anticipating the plane would crash upon impact, but to everyone’s surprise, it landed safely on the airfield.

When the firefighters breached the plane, though, they found that all of the passengers had died, and we’d later come to learn their deaths were caused by a chemical attack. At first, it seemed the toxin’s impact was limited to those on the plane until the firefighters who breached the plane began to exhibit signs of exposure as well, including Macy. 

Macy and the others exposed to the toxin were taken to Med for treatment, but Macy sadly succumbed to the toxin and died before the antidote could be given. 

While Macy was not a core part of the show’s ensemble, she had a longstanding history on the show and was the first-ever Girls on Fire graduate. Her death was heartbreaking to watch unfold, especially knowing she died without getting the chance to say a proper goodbye to her mom due to the sudden nature with which the toxin killed her.

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