In this tragic Chicago Fire moment, Violet watched her boyfriend make the ultimate sacrifice.
Evan Hawkins’ (Jimmy Nicholas) death in Chicago Fire Season 11 is one of the show’s most heartbreaking moments. His passing was a significant turning point for many on the show, especially Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith), his then-girlfriend.
Below, we revisit this pivotal moment of Chicago Fire’s history, in which Hawkins’ infallible heroism was the very thing that led to his demise.
Violet’s haunting reaction to Hawkins’ death on Chicago Fire
Season 11, Episode 3 (“Completed Shattered”) ended with a theater fire that had all first-responder hands on deck. Hawkins and Violet were on the call, and just as the chaos seemed to die down, Hawkins noticed a civilian fall on the sidewalk near the entrance of the theatre. Hawkins went to help—but just as he and the civilian got their footing, the theater’s exterior wall began to crumble. Within a second, a shower of debris and concrete engulfed Hawkins and the civilian.
Firefighters hastily tried to find Hawkins and the civilian from under the rubble. They swiftly recovered the civilian and had him on a stretcher in seconds, but by the time they found Hawkins, he was unresponsive. As soon as Violet saw Hawkins, she exploded into action.
“Get out, get out!” Violet cried, pushing her way through to be at Hawkins’ side. “Move! Move!”
Violet desperately administered CPR in a feeble attempt to revive him, but it was no use. “C’mon, Evan, talk to me,” she pled, getting no response from Hawkins. As Violet’s heart-wrenching pleas escalated into desperate sobs, Boden (Eamonn Walker) grabbed Violet off Hawkins so the paramedics could rush him to the hospital.
“No, I can do it!” Violet sobbed, resisting Boden’s orders. “I can save him, please, no!”
In Season 11, Episode 4 (“The Center of the Universe”), it was revealed that Hawkins didn’t survive his injuries, but the civilian did, meaning Hawkins’ death wasn’t for naught.
Violet spent all of Season 11 picking up the pieces of her grief, and in Season 12, she struggled to date again after falling for another first responder, 51 firefighter Sam Carver (Jake Lockett). Losing Hawkins led Violet to build up many defenses, but she seems to be slowly opening up her heart again with time.
Season 13 of Chicago Fire premieres Wednesday, September 25, at 9/8c on NBC and streams next day on Peacock.
