Chicago Fire Season 14 Loses A Main Firehouse 51 Member (But With A Caveat)

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Severide and Pascal standing together in the Chicago Fire season 13 finale

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In the middle of its current year, a fresh update reveals that Chicago Fire season 14 will see Firehouse 51 lose an important member, but there's a caveat. The 2025-2026 TV cycle continues to bring major announcements with regard to Dick Wolf's franchise spinoff. On the heels of the news that the One Chicago franchise will once again reconvene in a few weeks, a new update drops about its inaugural show.

At the start of Chicago Fire season 14, Firehouse 51 lost Sam Carver and Darren Ritter, while also welcoming Sal Vsquez. Since then, the show's ensemble has been stable, bar the occasional absences, which is part of the cost-cutting measures that network TV shows with a big cast usually do nowadays. That said, Chicago Fire is due for a big shift at the tail end of its run.

Per Deadline, Dermot Mulroney is going on a leave of absence as Dom Pascal starting on Chicago Fire season 14, episode 15. The character will still be part of the announced 2026 One Chicago crossover, but once he starts his hiatus, it will last until the end of the year, when he may return. Instead, the procedural is introducing Rob Morgan as Battalion Chief Hopkins for his quasi-replacement.

Dermot Mulroney as Chief Dom Pascal in Chicago Fire season 13, episode 21

Mulroney's Pascal was brought in as the official replacement for Chief Boden, after Eammon Walker's unexpected exit in Chicago Fire season 12. Admittedly, his start with Firehouse 51 wasn't ideal, as both he and the team were still trying to gauge whether they could trust each other. By the end of the year, however, Pascal's loyalties became clear, effectively making it easy for everyone to follow his lead.

More recently, Pascal's struggle has been dealing with the consequences of the ongoing CFD budget cuts. At one point, he even considered running for office to make an actual impact on how the whole department is being run. Whether his upcoming absence is tied to that is currently uncertain. It's worth noting, however, that Mulroney's temporary departure is mainly due to Chicago Fire's own budget cuts. Instead of spreading them out, they decided to find a storyline to explain his prolonged absence.

Pascal, Voight, and Platt in the One Chicago crossover

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The report doesn't commit to Mulroney's Pascal returning at the end of season 14. That said, it makes it clear that his exit is only temporary. In any case, Chicago Fire is not new to something like this, although the circumstances were a bit different back when Taylor Kinney went on hiatus. Hopefully, however, NBC and Wolf Entertainment will find a way to bring Pascal back this year instead of waiting for his season 15's return.