How did Otis die on Chicago Fire? The writers chose him over another firefighter

The season 8 premiere of Chicago Fire, "Sacred Ground," aired on NBC on September 25, 2019, and fans had spent the whole summer staring at the season 7 cliffhanger. Truck 81 was caught in a mattress factory fire. Someone wasn't coming out, and nobody on the show had decided who when the finale aired.

How Otis died

Brian "Otis" Zvonecek (Yuri Sardarov), one of the show's original firefighters since 2012, was badly burned in the mattress factory fire. Here's how the premiere plays it:

• The ambulance: Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso), Otis' best friend and roommate, rides with him. When the medics open his turnout coat, Cruz sees how bad the burns are, in a single shot that cuts between Otis and Cruz's face, per TV Insider.
• The death: Otis dies with Cruz crying at his bedside.
• The last words: He speaks them in Russian, and Cruz can't understand them. Boden (Eamonn Walker) later translates: "Brother, I will be with you, always," TVLine reported.

Those Russian last words were also Sardarov's last scene on the show.

Why the writers picked Otis

Showrunner Derek Haas told CinemaBlend the decision came during the summer hiatus, a few weeks after the cliffhanger aired, in a conversation with his head writers Andrea Newman and Michael Gilvary. The motive was the show's own track record. Seven seasons of last-second rescues, Haas said, had taught viewers that 51 always gets out.

"Not everyone walks away."

— Derek Haas, showrunner, to CinemaBlend

The other firefighter on the list was Darren Ritter (Daniel Kyri). Haas told TVLine he considered him and decided against it because Ritter was such a new character that his death would feel planned, and he told TV Insider that "for it to be a real surprise, you need it to be a core cast member." Otis was the opposite: he lived with Cruz and Brett, he was Mouch's best friend and he'd been on Truck 81 since the pilot.

Ritter was too new to hurt. Otis had been on Truck 81 since the pilot, which is exactly why losing him did.

How Sardarov took it

Haas checked with franchise creator Dick Wolf first, then called Sardarov, a friend from before the show. He told CinemaBlend that Sardarov's answer was "I'll do whatever you ask of me, Derek," and he called Sardarov "gracious and professional" to TV Insider. Sardarov came back to shoot the premiere.

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The death set up the first half of season 8: Cruz's grief, the whole firehouse dealing with the loss and Casey deciding who he sends into danger next. Haas wanted viewers to stop assuming everyone walks out of the fire, and Otis was the proof.

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