What happened to Shay on ‘Chicago Fire?’

The hit network drama Chicago Fire has been regularly hurting its viewers’ feelings for a dozen seasons now, constantly dangling loveable characters in front of the audience’s faces, only to explode them in a mattress factory a few years later.

One of the most egregious cases: Leslie Shay, the Firehouse 51 paramedic who captured the hearts of not only One Chicago fans, but also that one guy in season two that pulled a gun on her and didn’t understand why she didn’t want to marry him. Shay didn’t enjoy a long tenure on Chicago Fire, but her time was memorable – until it was brought to an unceremonious end by one of the Windy City’s many exploding buildings. In case the details have gotten away from you in the almost-a-decade since she met her terrible end, here’s a recap on the fate of Leslie Shay.

How did Leslie Shay die on Chicago Fire?

It was season two of Chicago Fire, and the season was coming to an end – always a dangerous time to be hanging out around Firehouse 51. Chief Boden was most of the way through getting married when the team was called to, of all things, a fire, this time in a five-storey building. Everything seems by-the-book. Then the explosions start.

In one of said explosions, Shay, finds herself at the business end of a falling pipe. She’s struck in the head, and despite the best efforts of her fellow emergency responders, she never recovers. The story doesn’t end there, though. By the end of season 3, we learn that the Chicago fire that took Shay’s life wasn’t just any Chicago fire – it was a Chicago fire set by Chicago serial arsonist Trenton Lamont. The firebug would be shot and killed in a crossover episode by Chicago P.D.’s Antonio Dawson. The pipe that struck Shay remains at large.