Severide isn't interested in fighting fires on Chicago Fire anymore

Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) is back. Again. The Chicago Fire mainstay hasn't really stayed put the last few seasons, but the promo for the upcoming episode, "Red Flag", confirms that he will be front and center in the story.

Another thing it confirms, however, is that Severide is pretty uninterested in fighting fires these days. The character who once told someone that he was a firefighter since he was born is more interested in finding out who started them than putting them out.

Severide focuses only on investigation

It makes sense given the character's pivot to arson investigation, but it also makes him less involved with the show's action set pieces than ever before. The season 12 premiere is a perfect example of how Severide's shifting interests have changed the dynamic of Chicago Fire.

Severide was tasked with investigating an arsonist who was targeting firefighters, and rather than be at the forefront of the episode's central action scene, he was the one who put the pieces together. It was actually Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg) who took over the action role, and he wound up suffering hearing loss as a result.

It's easy to see why Severide has taken up an interest in arson investigation. The character clearly has a knack for it, and it's connected with viewers to such an extent that One Chicago producers thought about giving him his own, arson investigation-based spinoff.

Severide has a new case in 'Red Flag'

It does leave a bit of an opening, however. Severide used to spearhead the calls that Firehouse 51 received, but now, he seems more content to take a backseat, and focus on the aftermath of these various incidents. The promo for "Red Flag" proves it.

The promo features images of what looks like a classic Chicago Fire scenario (a burning building), but rather than show us what happens in the moment, the images are intercut with Severide stumbling upon a case involving one of the survivors and an undisclosed amount of stolen money.

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Severide has another case to solve, and it only tangentially involves a fire. The character feels separate from the rest of Firehouse 51, and the more time he focuses on mysteries over emergency calls, the more the feeling will grow.

The writers are going to have to reconcile this growing rift or risk making Severide feel as though he's no longer part of the show that made him iconic.