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'Chicago Fire' season 8: Fans worried that Otis is most likely to die from the boiler explosion in the premiere episode

The promo for the upcoming season suggests that the major factory fire from season 7's finale could result in the death of someone from Firehouse 51

The preview for 'Chicago Fire' has indicated an upcoming death in season 8's premiere episode. This is something we delved into as well, considering the name of the episode being 'Sacred Ground' - a term generally used for a memorial for firefighters. While we think that the casualty could be Joe Cruz, many fans are worried that it could be Brian "Otis" Zvonecek, played by Yuri Sardarov. Otis has been a part of Firehouse 51 since the show debuted on NBC in 2012.

Showrunner Derek Haas even told TV Guide, that there are going to be some real ramifications from the call in season 7's finale that is "gonna devastate Firehouse 51 for a while". In the last season's finale, most of the firehouse is dealing with a major factory fire, with a boiler primed to explode. Perhaps the boiler does explode and this could be what causes the upcoming death. As of now, except for Jesse Spencer and Taylor Kinney , who play Captain Matthew Casey and Lieutenant Kelly Severide respectively, no one else has been confirmed to return for the whole of season 8. This has increased the speculation with respect to who could come back.

Otis is a beloved favorite among the fans and if he dies, it is sure to create a ripple effect, not just among the characters of the show, but also the viewers. Otis had mostly a light season 7 but that may be okay since he suffered what could have been a career-ending injury in season 6 and recovered. In season 7, he was diagnosed with PTSD after having found a mother and child charred to death inside an elevator. 

When a fan asked Haas on Twitter what was next for Otis, he replied "Well, he's down in the basement of a burning mattress factory with a boiler about to explode...so", fueling the speculations even further. Another fan replied to this thread saying that in the tweets about the show over the summer, Otis was never seen in the pictures. One fan is certain that "It’s Otis on the gurney" in the scene that is shown in the promo. We'll need to wait for only a few more days before we find out who could be the casualty if any.

'Chicago Fire' will return for its eighth season on Wednesday, September 25, 2019.