NEED TO KNOW
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Joe Miñoso, who has played Joe Cruz since the pilot, will leave Chicago Fire during season 15
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Miñoso’s character Cruz became a fan favorite through memorable storylines like inventing the Slamigan and expanding his family
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Season 15 premieres Oct. 7 with Miñoso appearing in several episodes ahead of his departure from the series
Firehouse 51 is losing another firefighter.
PEOPLE has learned that Joe Miñoso is leaving Chicago Fire. The actor, 47, has played beloved firefighter Joe Cruz since the hit NBC show’s pilot in 2012.
However, the actor is expected to appear in several episodes during season 15, which premieres Oct. 7.
At the conclusion of the season 14 finale of Chicago Fire in May, a vast majority of the characters’ lives were in peril as they answered the call for a massive structure fire.
Joe Minoso as Joe Cruz on Chicago Fire
Credit: Peter Gordon/NBC
The firefighters, including Cruz, were scattered throughout the building: Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg) and Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) were on the roof and Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) and Mouch (Christian Stolte) were deeper inside. After former Chief Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney) ordered all of the firefighters to evacuate, a major explosion went off inside the structure. The episode ended on a cliffhanger as the explosion took over.
Mayo and Kinney were confirmed as returning to the show for season 15 in May, leaving the fates of much of the rest of the cast still in the air.
Throughout the 14 seasons, Miñoso has made Cruz a fan-favorite character, from his secret side hustle teaching Zumba, to inventing the Slamigan, to marrying Chloe (Kristen Gutoskie), a woman he rescued, and expanding their family. In fact, Joe and Chloe were expecting twins at the time of the season 14 finale.
Joe Minoso and Randy Flagler on Chicago Fire
Credit: Peter Gordon/NBC
Over the years, Miñoso developed a deep respect for firefighters. “I think one of the great things that our show portrays is how much of a family this group is,” he told PEOPLE for the 2022 Sexiest Man Alive issue, in which he was featured alongside Kinney. “And I think that’s something we learned from watching these guys, these men and women, support each other through some really horrific stuff. They really rely on each other. They don’t take this stuff home. They don’t want to put that on their families. So they’ve got each other. And I think that’s an incredible thing.”
Joe Minoso on Chicago Fire in 2021
Credit: Art Streiber/NBC
The actor also reflected on the moment he learned he’d landed the role of Joe Cruz.
“I think every boy, at some point, sees a fire truck and is like, ‘That’s dope,’ but I think I was more like a kid about playing a firefighter in my 30s,” Miñoso said. “When I got cast, I originally was the truck driver for 81 — I’m the only one that hasn’t crashed that rig — and I just remember getting the call, and they said, ‘You got the job.’ And I hung up the phone, and I was like, ‘I’m going to be a firefighter.’ I’m turning a fake wheel to a truck.”
“I was so excited about the potential,” he added. “I don’t think we could ever imagine that this is where we would’ve gone.”
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Season 15 of Chicago Fire, one-third of the One Chicago universe from Dick Wolf Entertainment, kicks off on Oct. 7 on NBC.
Read the original article on People