History TearJerker / ChicagoFire

* The tension that had been growing at Firehouse 51 vanishes during the warehouse fire they respond to as, when Severide or Dawson don't come out and are running out of air, Boden personally goes in to rescue them, telling off his station as a way to end the tension between the companies since, as Battalion Chief, his orders are law, putting them in their place. However, when the 26th Battalion Chief prepares to have the building pounded with water from the ladder companies, fireboats, and snorkels, a member of 51 pleads for him not to do it. His pleas go ignored, and the rest of 51 watch helplessly as the building is swamped, fearing Boden, Severide, and Dawson are done for, some of them even crying in devastation.

'''Hermann:''' You people make me sick!

* Severide tries to talk to his father, Benny, about removing Gorsch from the station. Benny seems reluctant and Severide snaps at him how Boden has been a better father than Benny ever was. A few days later, Severide hears Benny has a stroke and arrives at Med to be told he died. He's in the chapel, telling this to Boden who reveals that Benny had called in every favor he could to get Gorsch removed. Realizing his father died thinking his son hated him causes Severide to break down crying

* This is where the story of poor Ernie starts, which culminates with him [[spoiler: being burned alive in a house fire set by his uncle.]]

* A frequent flyer Shay had grown friendly with [[spoiler: shooting himself]] right in front of her and her spiraling afterward.

* It is ''heavily'' implied that [[spoiler: Severide's little half-sister Katie]] was raped. She had also been severely beaten and Otis (with whom she had a burgeoning relationship) being scared to even see her after the ordeal was really sad.

* Candidate Rebecca Jones [[spoiler: committing suicide]] after finding out that her father would be placing her in an administrative position and she would not become a firefighter.

* Gabby goes to confront Chief Jones about barring his daughter from becoming a firefighter, which led to her [[spoiler: suicide]], but when she gets there she sees a man clearly distraught about his daughter's death. While his actions still weren't right, he was simply a father trying to protect his only daughter from a dangerous job.

* [[spoiler: Shay's]] death on the job, which later turned out to be arson. It caused Kelly to retreat for a while, Gabby to blame herself in the aftermath since they switched spots, and is just such a shock to everyone.

* The reason why Severide's wife is so apprehensive about his profession; [[spoiler: her sister died in an accident while she was driving the car, but she was almost unharmed]].

* While Mills definitely had the warmest goodbye of the main cast, compared to [[spoiler: Shay]] and [[spoiler: Otis']] deaths, [[spoiler: Chili]] being fired and going to rehab, and Gabby leaving and divorcing Matt on not-so-great terms and going to Puerto Rico; it is still really sad to see him give Pouch one last goodbye hug and then walking away from the station for good.

* [[spoiler: Katja's]] death.

* Gabby [[spoiler: losing her baby]]. The whole thing is incredibly sad, especially considering how excited Gabby was about the whole thing.

* [[spoiler: Detective Holloway's]] death. Her son's tearful reaction as his aunt breaks the news to him doesn't help, either. And while the Firehouse 51 allowing him to take Pouch with him is a heartwarming touch considering the two had become close, it's sad to see the beloved dog go away for good.

* [[spoiler: Jimmy's]] brother dying and him not being able to save him despite his best efforts. Seeing him getting dragged out of the building by Boden while reaching for his brother is just incredibly heartbreaking.

** Really, Jimmy's whole arc is incredibly sad toward the end. He started out as a candidate eager to become a firefighter and ended up with a dead [[spoiler: brother]] and then horrific injuries that leave him needed intensive care for the rest of his life. I mean, he was in his early twenties at the time and everything was just over for him.

--> ''Boden'': We talked about rebuilding, rebirth. But I never really believed in it. Not in those days. The world felt brutal, ugly. The people who gave their lives that day would never know why. Through all the digging and the dust and the death, we never found a single soul. And I felt like I failed them. Firefighters don’t fail people. A hole formed inside of me.

* Just as it seems Severide is finally going to be happy with Anna, a woman who he donated his bone marrow to save from cancer, her cancer returns, and this time she dies.

* Otis finding [[spoiler: a young mother and her baby]] burned to death in the elevator. His face, when the smoke clears, is gut-wrenching, and him solemnly reporting it to Boden is just awful.

* [[spoiler: Chloe's]] car accident and the ensuing storyline.

** While his death hits everyone hard, Cruz is hit the hardest. He breaks down crying when Otis dies in the hospital. Otis' last words to him are in Russian[[note]] A rare case of ShownTheirWork in a show that usually doesn’t; people who are multilingual often revert to their native tongue when in extreme pain or altered level of consciousness (burn victims usually check both boxes). Otis recognizes Cruz, but probably doesn’t even realize he’s speaking Russian instead of English. It's pretty obvious that these will be his last words[[/note]]. "Brat, ya budu s toboy vsegda". Later on when Boden reveals a memorial for Otis, then tells them that he looked it up and tells them that they mean, "Brother, I will be with you always." Cruz breaks down sobbing again.

* That mother and her baby (and quite frankly every other victim) dying and awfully painful death because one asshole decided he wanted to play God is seriously upsetting.

* We find out that [[spoiler: Blake Gallo's]] family (including his little sister) all died in a house fire when he was only twelve years old.

* Sylvie's [[spoiler: birth mother]] dying just as they were reconnecting. Sylvie holding her baby sister and sobbing is just so sad.

* [[spoiler: Hawkins]] dies after being crushed saving a civilian from a falling archway with [[spoiler: Violet]] in hysterics trying in vain to save him.

* [[spoiler: A heckler hassles the 51 crew at their calls, it turns out he blames them for the death of his father in the first episode of the season at the wedding tent fire. Violet, having lost Hawkins, sets him straight.]]

* [[spoiler: A heckler hassles the 51 crew at their calls, it turns out he blames them for the death of his father in the first episode of the season at the wedding tent fire. Violet, having lost Hawkins, sets him straight.

--> '''Edgar: HE'S GONE! And you all just go about your lives like nothing happened! Like you had nothing to do with it!

* [[spoiler: Katja's]] death is really sad and often gets overlooked in the grand scheme.

* [[spoiler: Detective Holloway's]] death and her son bawling as his aunt breaks the news to him is heartbreaking. And while the Firehouse 51 allowing him to take Pouch with him is a heartwarming touch considering the two had become close, it was sad to see the beloved dog go away for good.

* The reason why Severide's wife is so apprehensive about his profession; [[spoiler: her sister died in an accident while she was driving the car, but she was almost unharmed]]. She's afraid of getting another one of those calls.

* Gabby goes to confront Chief Jones about barring his daughter from becoming a firefighter, which led to her [spoiler: suicide]], but when she gets there she sees a man clearly distraught about his daughter's death. While his actions still weren't right, he was simply a father trying to protect his only daughter from a dangerous job.

* A man knows that he's going to die, so gets Severide to record him saying a goodbye message to his wife. The way the wife hugs him and thanks him after watching it is heartbreaking.
* The whole Ernie storyline, which ends with [[spoiler: Ernie burning alive]].
* "A Coffin That Small."
* What happens to Vargas; because of a few seconds of breathing poisonous smoke he's diagnosed with emphysema, and can no longer serve as a firefighter. To make matters worse, he had only recently transferred to Squad 3 from Truck 81, which had been his dream for quite some time. While the crew assures him he's always welcome at 51, when he comes to visit things are awkward. It all culminates in a suicide attempt Casey and Severide just barely talk him down from, after which he is never seen again outside a flashback at the beginning of season three.
* Hallie's murder, Rebecca's suicide and Shay's death on the job and their aftermath, plus the cruel irony in Rebecca's case, since the reason why she's DrivenToSuicide is actually her father trying to protect her.
* The reason why Severide's wife is so apprehensive about him; [[spoiler: her sister died in an accident while she was driving the car, but she was almost unharmed]].
* "That Day." Boden explains to his stepson and the rest of House 51 what he did on 9/11. He and two other Chicago firefighters traveled to New York City together to help dig and search for survivors.

* The ending of "The People We Meet." Chief Boden gives a speech about what it means to be a firefighter while Dawson and Casey give Louie up to his father and Severide recouperates from painful bone marrow donation.
* Just as it seems Severide is finally going to be happy with Anna, a woman who he donated his bone marrow to save her from cancer, her cancer returns and this time she dies.
* Severide tries to talk to his father, Benny, about removing Gorsch from the station. Benny seems reluctant and Severide snaps on how Boden has been a better father than Benny ever was. A few days later, Severide hears Benny has a stroke and arrives at Med to be told he died. He's in the chapel, telling this to Boden who reveals that Benny had called in every favor he could to get Gorsch removed. Realizing his father died thinking his son hated him causes Severide to break down crying.
* Otis' death in the season 8 premiere "Sacred Ground".

** What makes it more sadder is that Cruz thought it was something bad and that Otis was angry with him.
* Jimmy Borelli trying to save a victim of a car accident by pushing the car away from a fuel fire. The fire flashes over and he suffers severe burns down his left side, and goes blind in his left eye. The last we see of him, he's in a hospital bed, intubated and unable to speak, and he cries a SingleTear knowing a single stupid mistake has ruined his life. Even worse, he did this because he was angry at the chief for, in his view, getting his brother killed.

** While his death hits everyone hard, Cruz is hit the hardest. He breaks down crying when Otis dies in the hospital. Otis' last words to him are in Russian[[note]] A rare case of ShownTheirWork in a show that usually doesn’t; people who are multilingual often revert to their native tongue when in extreme pain or altered level of consciousness (burn victims usually check both boxes). Otis recognizes Cruz, but probably doesn’t even realize he’s speaking Russian instead of English. It's pretty obvious that these will be his last words[[/note]]. "Brat, ya budu s toboy vsegda". Later on when Boden reveals a memorial for Otis, then tells them that he looked it up and tells them that they mean, "Brother, I will be with you always." Cruz breaks down sobbing again.

** While his death hits everyone hard, Cruz is hit the hardest. He breaks down crying when Otis dies in the hospital. Otis' last words to him are in Russian. "Brat, ya budu s toboy vsegda". Later on when Boden reveals a memorial for Otis, then tells them that he looked it up and tells them that they mean, "Brother, I will be with you always." Cruz breaks down sobbing again.

* Otis' death in the season 8 premiere "Sacred Ground".

* Severide tries to talk to his father, Benny, about removing Gorsch from the station. Benny seems reluctant and Severide snaps on how Boden has been a better father than Benny ever was. A few days later, Severide hears Benny has a stroke and arrives at Med to be told he died. He's in the chapel, telling this to Boden who reveals that Benny had called in every favor he could to get Gorsch removed. Realizing his father died thinking his son hated him causes Severide to break down crying.

* Just as it seems Severide is finally going to be happy with Anna, a woman who he donated his bone marrow to save her from cancer, her cancer returns and this time she dies.

* The ending of "The People We Meet." Chief Boden gives a speech about what it means to be a firefighter while Dawson and Casey give Louie up to his father and Severide recouperates from painful bone marrow donation.

* What happens to Vargas; because of a few seconds of breathing poisonous smoke he's doomed to a slow and painful death. TruthInTelevision

--> ''Boden'': We talked about rebuilding, rebirth. But I never really believed in it. Not in those days. The world felt brutal, ugly. The people who gave their lives that day would never know why. Through all the digging and the dust and the death, we never found a single soul. And I felt like I failed them. Firefighters don’t fail people. A hole formed inside of me.

--> ''Boden'': We talked about rebuilding, rebirth. But I never really believed in it. Not in those days. The world felt brutal, ugly. People who gave their lives will never know why. Through all the digging and death, we never found a single soul. It felt like I failed.
Firefighters don’t fail people. A hole formed inside of me.

* A Coffin That Small.
* What happens to Vargas; because of a few seconds of breathing poisonous smoke he's doomed to a slow and painful death.