Chief Wallace Boden was the glue that holds Firehouse 51 together, but the squad will need to find a new leader as Chief Wallace Boden is officially out Chicago Fire as actor Eamonn Walker retired after 12 seasons. So why did Boden leaving Chicago Fire? Read on for a refresher to how he was written out.
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.
Eamonn Walker has starred as Chief Wallace Boden since Season 1. Boden is the Deputy District Chief of District 4 and the former Battalion Chief of Firehouse 51. He has served in the Chicago Fire Department for over 40 years, working alongside Benny Severide and Henry Mills, the late fathers of Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) and Peter Mills (Charlie Barnett).
A staple of Chicago Fire and one of five remaining original characters – along with Severide, Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg), Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso) and Randall “Mouch” Mcholland (Christian Stolte) – fans can’t imagine the show without Boden. Now, a new chief will take his place. Read on to see why Chief Wallace Boden left Chicago Fire and how the series wrote out Eamonn Walker’s character.
Why did Chief Wallace Boden leave Chicago Fire?
Why did Chief Wallace Boden leave Chicago Fire? News broke in May 2024 that Eamonn Walker, who played Boden since Chicago Fire Season 1, was leaving the show as a series regular after 12 seasons. His last full-time appearance as Boden was in the Season 12 finale, “Never Say Goodbye,” in which he left Firehouse 51 to take a job as Deputy Fire Commissioner for the Chicago Fire Department. Upon his exit, Boden offered the role of Firehouse 51 caption to Senior Firefighter Christopher Herrmann.
Prior to confirmation of Walker’s exit, fans speculated that Season 12 would be Boden’s last based on hints that he would be taking a new job. In the Season 12 episode “All the Dark,” Boden learned that Deputy Fire Commissioner Gloria Hill (J. Nicole Brooks) is retiring and her position will soon be available. He also discovered that his name was placed on the shortlist for the role, along with Paramedic Field Chief Robinson.
Played by Laura Allen, Robinson is hell-bent on taking Boden out of the running and she’s been doing everything in her power to get his name removed. She first assigned Jared Lennox (Wesam Keesh) to Firehouse 51 and manipulated him into doing her dirty work. She then got Lennox to file a complaint against 51, in which he called Paramedic in Charge Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith) “aggressive” and “disrespectful.”
After Boden fired Lennox for his antics, he complained to Hill about Robinson and got her taken off the list. Robinson was furious and the episode ended with the paramedic chief vowing to take Boden down. In the Season 12 finale, Boden accepts the job of Deputy Fire Commissioner and gathers the rest of Firehouse 51 into his office to tell them the news. The job, in which Boden would oversee all districts in the Chicago Fire Department, made sense to write him off as a series regular while still allowing the series to keep him as a recurring character for future seasons, as Deadline reported upon his exit.
In an interview with TV Insider before the Chicago Fire Season 12 finale, showrunner Andrea Newman also hinted that Boden’s family life with his stepson, James, was another reason for his decision to take a step back from Firehouse 51. “Boden has been managing a lot of change at home (with his stepson James) and at 51, and learned a lot while doing it, including about himself,” Newman said at the time. “A shocking incident in the finale will highlight what it means to him to be a leader, and everyone close to him will be impacted in a huge way by the decision he makes.” Newman also hinted at other shakeups coming to Chicago Fire. “There are so many decisions to be made, I don’t think I could count them all,” she said.
Why did Eamonn Walker leave Chicago Fire?
Boden was the fourth Chicago Fire character to leave in Season 12, along with Sylvie Brett (played by Kara Killmer); Blake Gallo (played by Alberto Rosende); and Derrick Gibson (played by Rome Flynn). It’s not all bad news, however. According to Deadline, Walker will still remain on Chicago Fire in a recurring role, though he’ll no longer be a series regular.
In an interview with TVLine in 2024, Chicago Fire showrunner, Andrea Newman, explained why there have been so many exits in One Chicago recently. “Honestly, longevity is really just part of it,” she said, explaining that shows that run as long as Chicago Fire have to shake things up to keep storylines fresh. “[In] storytelling and in terms of real life, 12 years is a long time and things need to change, just dynamic-wise. You want new characters and you want new dynamics,” Newman continued.
The same is for actors, such as Killmer or Walker, who have been on Chicago Fire for years. “Actor-wise, 12 years is a long [time]. Nobody expects in TV [that] they’re going to be anywhere for 12 years, I can say that for sure, from all sides,” Newman said. Chicago Med co-showrunner, Andrew Schneider, shared the same sentiment. “That’s really what the Wolf [Entertainment] company likes to do is have characters leave and bring in new characters in an effort to keep the shows fresh or find new dimensions to the show and new dynamics,” Schneider said.
Newman, for her part, added that Chicago Fire‘s long run has “been a gift,” especially as it allows writers to “to really get to arc these things out and see these characters change.” She continued, “But you need to mix it up. It can’t be the same the whole time.”
