Chicago Fire puts Cruz's life on the line in terrifying new promo

Say it ain't so, Joe! Cruz (Joe Minoso) has been on a pretty consistent losing streak throughout season 12. We've documented it at length on this site, but here's a brief rundown. Cruz almost left Firehouse 51 over an argument with Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney). He was almost extorted for taking care of his adopted son, and his marriage is in shambles.

The promo for the upcoming Chicago Fire episode proves that it's only going to get worse. The promo shows 51 responding to a routine fire, only to have things get out of hand once Cruz is in the building. The oxygen in the building drops, and Severide panics, realizing that Cruz is not going to have any way to breath. "Cruz, report," Severide shouts over the radio. Silence.

Joe Cruz passes out during a rescue mission

The promo then hard cuts to the rest of the team pulling Cruz's lifeless body out of the building. He had a civilian over his shoulder in a previous shot, but it's unclear whether they make it out alive. We feel for both parties. The cruelest part of this near-brush with death is that Cruz was just talking about the possibility of a career change in the previous episode, "Inside Man."

He was venting to Herrmann (David Eigenberg) about the fact that his wife has been complaining about how much time he spends at work. He notes that this is what he's always done, and expresses frustration over his wife's desire to go to marriage counseling. Herrmann urges him to be fair with his wife and try to consider her perspective.

Cruz is confirmed to survive the incident (thankfully)

We're not saying the character is going to quit firefighting and leave the show, but it did raise, for the first time, the notion that Cruz may not fight fires forever. He is a father to two sons, now, and the lead up to the birth of his first son coincided with bouts of jitters on the job.

Don't worry, though. The promo photos for the season 12 finale, "Never Say Goodbye," confirms that the character does not die on the job. He makes it out, and is even healthy enough to be back on the job the following week. We hope that nearly dying is the character's bottoming out point. It'd be nice to see him turn things around and start winning again.