Who was Shay on ‘Chicago Fire’?

Chicago Fire has been through some cast changes over the years. Sometimes, people just leave the famous Firehouse 51 for career or family reasons, but occassionally, tragedy strikes.

Leslie Shay, played by Lauren German, was one of the first characters to show just how dangerous the job can be. The firebrand medic, who made her home in Ambulance 61, was highly respected in the firehouse.

Best friends with Kelly Severide, Shay was smart, capable, and caring. In the world of Chicago Fire, good medics will always back up the team, operate with the understanding that the job can be extremely dangerous, and balance the needs of victims with the need to keep themselves safe. Shay also managed to be fun and interesting both in her work and in her social life, as the writers did a great job of giving the character depth, which was brought to the screen with solid performances by German.

Shay’s time with Firehouse 51 was not always easy, despite her passion for her job and dedication to helping others. She witnessed a regular patient take his own life after professing his love for her, and struggled as several of her own relationships fell apart, as she strove for balance between the weight of her work, and time with her girlfriends. She did experience a lot of great times, though, going in on part ownership of a bar with several workmates, and generally enjoying the ups and downs that come with life in a job that leads to a close-knit sense of family.

Shay’s death in episode 22 of season 2 came as quite a shock to fans of the show, as nobody really expected her to be written out of the series. During the episode, the team is called to a fire at a school, and while Shay is administering care to an injured person in the building, there is a collapse.

The episode and season end on a cliffhanger, but when season 3 begins, we learn that she was struck in the head by a metal pipe. Her team attempts to save her, but nothing can be done, and sadly, she is declared dead. It is also revealed that both Severide and Dawson witnessed Shay get killed, and that leads to major issues for both of them to deal with.

In the long run, Shay is never forgotten in the firehouse, and a memorial to her is placed on the door of Ambulance 61.

The decision to write Shay out of the show didn’t have anything to do with German or her performance. Instead, it was specifically chosen to hit the audience hard. According to showruner Matt Olmstead, “As storytellers, you have to be unsentimental. Sometimes, you have to do that to bring more storylines into a show, and that’s what we decided to do.”

As for German, she went on to find further success in Lucifer, as Chloe Decker, for six seasons, so certainly not a bad place to end up. As for the loyal fans of Chicago Fire, they have never quite gotten over the death of Shay, and she is still considered a beloved character from the earliest days of the show.