It’s Official: Chicago Fire Confirms Major Character’s Exit
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He was the twist of all One Chicago twists, but is Jack Damon already leaving Chicago Fire? Michael Bradway made his debut as Damon, a firefighter who joins Firehouse 51’s Truck 81, in Season 12 of Chicago Fire.
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The season ended on a cliffhanger after Damon — who replaced former Truck 81 firefighter Derrick Gibson — revealed that he’s actually Lieutenant Kelly Severide’s younger half-brother. The reveal was one of Chicago Fire’s most shocking twists, however, less than a season later, it seems like Damon is already being written out of the NBC procedural.
What happened to Jack Damon on Chicago Fire?
Damon was fired from Firehouse 51 in Season 13, Episode 3, “All Kinds of Crazy,” after Lieutenant Stella Kidd — the wife of Damon’s estranged brother Lieutenant Kelly Severide — called for his termination after learning that he purposely lied to her while they were on an assignment. The episode saw Kidd struggle to manage Damon, who idolizes Severide but lacks respect for Kidd, while on her rig.
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Though Kidd had made excuses for Damon’s behavior because of his relationship with Severide, her breaking point came when she discovered that Damon had lied about not hearing an order from her on a mission.
Despite new Chief Dom Pascal’s complaint that Stella’s team had “more turnover than the Cubs bullpen,” she made the decision to let go of Damon and urge Pascal to move him back to the floater pool. “I need to put Jack Damon back in the floater pool,” she told Pascal, who responded, “You’ve never mentioned any issues with him in reports,” Pascal noted. “From what I see, Damon’s a solid firefighter.”
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Stella replied, “He can be, yeah. But I just found out that he disobeyed a direct order on that speedboat call last shift, then he lied about it. And there have been some questions about his honesty in the past, too.”
“If there were problems, I shouldn’t just be hearing about it now,” Pascal quipped, to which Stella agreed: “You’re right. I should have flagged it sooner.”
“And once again, there’s a turnover on your rig,” Pascal said, to which Stella responded, “That is true, and I don’t want to make excuses for—” Pascal then cut off Stella before telling her, “So don’t. As chief, I’m the one who makes the final decision about who stays and who goes in the firehouse. And I’ll decide if your leadership is part of the problem.”
Is Jack Damon leaving Chicago Fire for good?
Chicago Fire seemingly confirmed Damon was leaving the series in Season 13, Episode 4, “Through the Skin,” in which viewes learned that Damon had transferred to Firehouse 20 and was doing well at his new home. The episode also saw Severide visit the firehouse, where he learned that the house’s lieutenant liked Damon so much that he planned to extend a full-time position to him. The episode also saw Severide and Damon make up, as Severide reminded Damon that he didn’t need to live up to anyone’s reputation but instead should make a name for himself as a firefighter.
The scene seemed to serve as closure for Severide and Damon’s relationship and Damon’s storyline on Chicago Fire as a whole. The next episode, Season 13, Episode 5, “Down the Rabbit Hole,” made no mention of Damon, which seemed to confirm that he was officially written out of Chicago Fire.
For many fans, Damon’s exit was a poor decision for the show, given that Damon’s relationship with Severide was the Season 12 cliffhanger. Damon was fired from Firehouse 51 only three episodes into Season 13, and with so much storyline left to explore around Damon and Severide’s relationship and their shared family, it seemed like a waste to write off his character so soon into Season 13. Plus, the dynamic between him, Stella, and Severide, and the tension he created between the married couple made for interesting TV.
There was also also Damon’s burgeoning romantic relationship with Firehouse 51’s new paramedic, Lyla “Lizzie” Novak that Chicago Fire had been seemingly hinting at since both characters joined the series in Season 12. Bradway, who plays Damon, also promoted Chicago Fire in an Instagram Story post the week after Damon was fired from Firehouse 51, previously hinted that he wasn’t off the show yet. “Chicago Fire tonight,” he wrote on top of a photo of himself.
Chicago Fire is available to stream on Peacock.