Already?! Chicago Fire’s Newest Recruit Hints at Exit: ‘It Was a Gift To Be on Truck 81’

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Soaps.com may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.Derrick Gibson is the latest addition to Firehouse 51, but fans are already worried that he might be leaving. Is Derrick Gibson leaving Chicago Fire? What happened to Rome Flynn’s character? We have all the details below.
Chicago Fire is NBC’s hit procedural that follows the professional and personal lives of the firefighters, rescue personnel, and paramedics at the Chicago Fire Department’s fictional Firehouse 51. Produced by Dick Wolf, the series is the first installment of the One Chicago franchise, which includes the spinoffs Chicago P.D., Chicago Med and the now-canceled Chicago Justice. It first premiered in 2012 and is currently on its 12th season.

Derrick Gibson was first introduced during the second episode of Season 12 as a replacement for Blake Gallo (Alberto Rosende). Played by The Bold and the Beautiful alum Rome Flynn, Gibson is a quietly confident former boxer with a dark past. He was previously a floater on Truck 46 and earned his spot on the team after a heroic act that impressed Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo). A few episodes after his debut, Gibson’s past came to light and it was revealed that he accidentally killed his opponent in a boxing match, which led him to leave the sport.

Gibson is still acclimating to the new job and finding his footing at Firehouse 51, but could his time already be coming to an end? Fans are worried about the newbie’s fate and are speculating that Flynn may have hinted at his exit.

Is Derrick Gibson leaving Chicago Fire?
Is Derrick Gibson leaving Chicago Fire? While we don’t know for sure, there have been several signs that Gibson might be cutting his time on Truck 81 short. In late February 2024, Flynn reposted a fan edit of himself on his Instagram Story, captioning the post: “Love to my #ChicagoFire family, it was a gift to be on truck 81.” The use of past tense had fans in a frenzy and worried that he might be leaving.

One fan commented on the original posted and asked, “They kickin him off already????” to which Flynn responded: “Naa none of that.” The vague response left fans confused, and the most recent episode of Chicago Fire added flames to the fire. In the episode titled “Port in the Storm,” Kylie Estevez (Katelynn Shennett), a graduate of Kidd’s Girl on Fire program who now works on Truck 46, tells Gibson that she misses Firehouse 51. Gibson urges her to ask to be transferred, but she points out that there are no open positions. Mysteriously, Gibson insists that Kylie should speak to Chief Boden Wallace (Eamonn Walker), noting: “You never know, is all I’m saying.”

In a Reddit thread, several fans speculated on what this could mean for Gibson. “Gone, baby, gone. Episode 8 is his farewell,” one fan theorized. Others suggested that Gibson might switch over to Ambulance 61 and get his paramedic license. With Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) now gone and Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith) taking over her spot as Paramedic in Charge (PIC), there is an opening. “He definitely hinted in tonight’s episode that he’d be leaving, but I’m hoping he means he’s leaving to be a paramedic. Then he could be with violet,” a Reddit user wrote.

Showrunner Andrea Newmann had previously teased that Violet will be getting a new partner. “Ultimately, there will be somebody new coming in and they’ll be working under Violet,” she told TVLine. “That’s part of the great Violet journey this year, as she continues to grow as a character and gets to step into a leadership position on ambo, too.”