Sal Vasquez will soon no longer be the freshest face at Firehouse 51! When Chicago Fire returns for its 15th season this fall, the show will welcome a new series regular to the mix via the introduction of Da’Vinchi as Marcus Burke.
Burke is set to become Firehouse 51’s newest candidate, joining the team as a newcomer who is described as being roguish and funny. Interestingly, there is little information about his character beyond those qualities including how exactly Burke will be brought into 51 which definitely seems to be a very real cause for concern.
Chicago Fire season 13 concluded by establishing that there are a lot of budget cuts coming for the CFD. That was a thread that then carried into season 14 which brought about a lot of changes within the CFD as a direct result of the ongoing cuts in the department.
We saw Mouch nearly lose his job only to be sent off to another firehouse for several episodes before good fortune led him back to 51. There were significant layoffs throughout the CFD leading to cuts in leadership with fire chiefs forced to oversee more houses, which paved the way for Severide to take on a bigger leadership role as well as the temporary arrival of Chief Hopkins after Chief Pascal was dismissed for conduct unbecoming.
It was also established that the CFD was reducing shifts for its firefighters. This particular thread was one that resulted in characters missing episodes at a time due to Engine, Squad, and Truck being off shift or Ambo being assigned to another house.
Those cuts weren’t just an empty threat: they resulted in real consequences that had major implications on the season. They’re also why the addition of a new firefighter has us worried that Chicago Fire season 15 will open with a major death.
The odds of Chicago Fire killing off a character in the season 15 premiere just increased
Season 14 of Chicago Fire ended with the lives of nearly every member of Firehouse 51 on the line. In fact, only three characters were not in danger as a result of the season-ending cliffhanger.
Kidd, Herrmann, Vasquez, and Ballard were engulfed in a massive fireball as they fled the building’s roof before it collapsed, while Severide, Cruz, Mouch, Capp, and Tony were trapped in the building after an explosion sent the roof crashing down upon them.
The finale felt like a callback to the season 2 finale which left the lives of nearly every character on the line. That cliffhanger resulted in the death of paramedic Leslie Shay and the exit of Lauren German as a series regular, marking one of the show's biggest deaths.
There has been a fear that history could repeat itself and the addition of a new firefighter candidate in the form of Marcus Burke is certainly an indication a death could be coming.
Knowing that the CFD has been cutting back hours and jobs, it would be odd for them to suddenly begin welcoming an influx of new recruits. After all, no new candidates were brought in after the exits of Carver, Ritter, and Damon early in season 14 so why now?
Well, Firehouse 51 is already working with limited resources and there aren’t many more cuts the teams can take in order to have full rosters. If someone does not make it out of the finale fire, their spot would need to be filled and Burke could very well be the one to fill that void. This is another storyline we have seen in the past.
Fans will recall that Blake Gallo joined the 51 family after the death of Otis. It was an unfortunate circumstance and made for really unique storytelling as we got the chance to see someone join the team under very difficult circumstances. We haven’t really seen that storyline explored since Gallo and it would make sense for the writers to revisit the thread all these seasons later through Burke.
Hopefully, that won’t be the case and Burke’s arrival will perhaps be a turning point for the CFD overcoming the budget cuts. However, we just can’t shake the feeling he could be entering the picture as the result of another character being cut from it.
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