Fire Country season four will see one of the show’s most beloved character’s missing. At the end of season three, viewers saw an explosive two-hour finale end on a cliffhanger, with Cal Fire battalion chief Vince Leone, his wife, Cal Fire Division Chief Sharon, and his father, retired battalion chief Walter Leone trapped in a burning building with the roof collapsing on them after the Zabel Ridge fire. It was presumed that Vince, played by Billy Burke, would die in the tragedy, when it was revealed that the Twilight actor would not be returning for the fourth season, and a new trailer has now confirmed that Vince did not survive the fire.
“I’m going to spend the rest of my career protecting my father’s town, my father’s station, my father’s mission,” an emotional Bode (Max Theriot) is seen declaring during the first trailer for season four, which shows Bode speaking during Vince’s funeral. Season four, which debuts on CBS on October 17, 2025, will also see Station 42 grappling with the loss and the emergence of a new chief.
Fire Country showrunnners Joan Rater and Tony Phelan told TVLine why they decided to confirm Vince’s passing in the trailer rather than wait for the premiere episode, sharing that they wanted to be “respectful of what he means to our fans, what he means to us,” and not use him as a gimmick.
Fire Country launched in 2022 and was the passion project of Seal Team actor Max. The show follows young convict Bode, played by Max, who is offered access to an unconventional prison release firefighting program in Northern California. There, he and other inmates are partnered with elite firefighters to fight the unpredictable wildfires that engulf the region.
HELLO! spoke with Billy for the premiere, and he said at the time that “the subject matter was so ripe to dive into and it was a show that we hadn’t seen before”.
Season three also saw Stephanie Arcila, who plays firefighter and EMT Gabriela Perez, exit the series. Fans, however, were furious with what they perceived as creative mistakes with the series, with many taking to social media to question why Gabriela – a lead character – would be leaving when show bosses have hinted that she would have a happy-ever-after with Bode. “Writing Gabriela having a mental crisis, bettering herself after half a season of struggling and once she thought she found a nice guy, making her a victim to his stalking all to write her off under the guise of being realistic? What kind of [expletive] storytelling?” wrote one disgruntled fan, as another shared: “So I guess I’m no longer watching my favorite show. What a waste of an absolute hit show.”
