Firehouse 51 is losing a veteran firefighter. Joe Miñoso, who has been on Chicago Fire since Season 1, is departing the NBC drama series from Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television. He is set to appear in a handful of episodes at the start of the upcoming 15th season to wrap the arc of his character, Joe Cruz.
Miñoso started on Chicago Fire as a guest star in the pilot and appeared in virtually every episode of the first season as a recurring before getting promoted to a series regular at the start of Season 2. He was one of four original cast members left alongside Taylor Kinney and David Eigenberg, who had been series regulars from Day One, and Christian Stolte, who also began as a recurring in the first season.
The departure of Miñoso comes as Chicago Fire is adding BMF star Da’Vinchi as a series regular for Season 15, playing a new firefighter. As Deadline reported in May, the show’s leads, Kinney and Miranda Rae Mayo, have signed new deals to continue on the show.
The new season also brings a new showrunner, Victor Teran, following Andrea Newman’s exit after 14 seasons.
In the Season 14 finale, former Chief Pascal (Dermott Mulroney), who had been absent since Episode 14, returns to discuss with Severide (Kinney) his professional options: Chief of Firehouse 51 or Chief of Fire Investigation? As Severide is about to share his decision, an emergency call interrupts his announcement.
‘Chicago Fire: Joe Minoso as Cruz
Peter Gordon/NBC
As far as Joe Cruz is concerned, he and his wife announced last season that they were having a baby. In the Season 14 finale, Joe is sitting with his colleagues over breakfast when he admits that he would love to welcome a third boy into the Cruz family because “girls are scary.”
Later on, Joe’s wife is rushed to the hospital, panicked that something is wrong with the baby. She has some slight bleeding, which a nurse at Gaffney explains was due to a small blood vessel getting irritated. But that isn’t even the biggest news — the Cruz family is expecting twins!
The finale ends on a cliffhanger when 51 answers an emergency call that a storage facility is on fire. Several main Chicago Fire characters head inside where they’re dealing with complications like zero visibility. All of a sudden, the team realizes the roof is about to collapse. They attempt to get out of the fire, as the team outside, including Stella (Mayo), Pascal (Mulroney), and Herrmann (Eigenberg), pivots plans into critical emergency mode. Fire is escaping outside of the building, and the team calls Mayday over the radios. The best and brightest at 51 are all in danger — and fans have to wait for Season 15 to find out who survives.