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With Carver gone, Chicago Fire welcomes a new firefighter to the family, but their introduction is rather disappointing, as it continues a predictable pattern. The NBC procedural drama TV series is losing three characters in season 13 — Carver (played by Jake Lockett), Ritter (played by Daniel Kyri), and Damon (played by Michael Bradway). As such, Firehouse 51 has open spots to fill.

At the end of Chicago Fire season 13, Damon put in a transfer request to the Denver Fire Department. As such, he’s gone by the time the season 14 premiere opens. Even though he exchanged “I love yous” with Violet, Carver seemingly decided it was best for him to move on from Chicago. And in his absence, Chief Pascal needed to find his replacement.

Vasquez Replaces Carver On Truck 81 In Chicago Fire Season 14

Brandon Larracuente Joins The Cast

One of the higher-ups in the Chicago Fire Department calls in a favor at the beginning of Chicago Fire season 14, episode 1, “Kicking Down Doors.” They want Sal Vasquez to replace Carver in Firehouse 51 as Truck 81’s driver. Chief Pascal doesn’t get much of a say in this “request,” so he has no choice but to take Brandon Larracuente’s character in.

Vasquez doesn’t have much time to introduce himself to the Firehouse 51 team once he arrives, because everyone gets called away to a car burglary gone wrong. He does meet his new lieutenant, though, and doesn’t exactly make a good first impression. Kidd informs Vasquez that he has big shoes to fill, as Carver was a great driver. Vasquez counters that he’s better.

After, Vasquez is quite reckless while driving Truck 81 to the aforementioned scene in the season 14 premiere. Kidd later chastises him for not listening to her orders, and Vasquez all but shrugs her off, further frustrating his lieutenant. Given her innate skepticism of Carver’s Chicago Fire replacement, Kidd digs deeper into the recruit’s background and doesn’t like what she finds.

Vasquez has multiple reports of insubordination, which sets off red flags for Kidd. So, after learning that the CFD is making budget cuts, she urges Chief Pascal to fire Vasquez from Firehouse 51. However, what she doesn’t know is that Chief Pascal isn’t the one who decided to bring Vasquez to Firehouse 51. As such, he tells Kidd that Larracuente’s character is staying.

Firehouse 51’s New Recruit Is Too Similar To His Predecessors
Almost Every New Firefighter Has Been Trouble
Jake Lockett as Sam Carver in Chicago Fire season 13
Unfortunately, Vasquez isn’t the first arrogant recruit to ruffle Kidd’s (or any lieutenant’s) feathers in Chicago Fire. As Ritter and Violet point out in the season 14 premiere, Carver was also trouble for Kidd when he first joined Firehouse 51. Of course, the two of them had a history that only increased the tension between them, as they attended the fire academy together.