'Fire Country' Premiere Photos: How Will 42 Do on a Call Without Vince After His Death?
Fire Country is about to say goodbye to two of its own, based on exits reported after the Season 3 finale. And the trailer ahead of the October 17 premiere reveals that Billy Burke‘s Vince dies. How Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila) will be written out has yet to be seen, but we know she’s in that first episode, and new photos show her alongside Bode (Max Thieriot), Manny (Kevin Alejandro), Jake (Jordan Calloway), and Eve (Jules Latimer) during a rescue. Is this her last call?
In the premiere, titled “Goodbye for Now” — which we assume is related to Gabriela’s storyline — “in the aftermath of the Zabel Ridge fire, Station 42 faces internal turmoil but must rally together for a high-stakes rescue that tests their strength, loyalty and the future of the firehouse.” The episode will be airing at 8/7c, an hour earlier than usual, with the new spinoff
The Season 3 finale ended with Bode (Max Thieriot) only able to watch as the Zabel Ridge fire consumed the care facility where his grandfather, Walter (Jeff Fahey), had been living and where he was still inside, along with Bode’s parents, Vince and Sharon (Diane Farr). The building was collapsing on them when we last saw them.
The trailer has since revealed that Vince does, in fact, die, while Sharon and Walter both survive. TV Insider spoke with executive producers Tony Phelan and Joan Rater about that decision.
“We felt like coming into Season 4, we have a show about wildland firefighters and we have the same cast that we had from the beginning. And to be truthful to the work that these people do, which is always our desire, we felt like it was time for the show and the characters to have a loss,” Phelan explained. “And last season was about legacy. Vince dealing with the legacy of his father and using that as a lens to look at what his relationship with Bode was. And as we were talking about the end of the season, we felt like the thing that was really going to shake up the show and shake up our characters in the best way possible and force them to really reassess where they were and what they were doing was this kind of loss.”
He added, “At the same time, we want to be very respectful of the character of Vince, of how important he is to the show, and how important Billy was as a presence on the show. So, the loss of Vince is going to echo through the entire season, and we are going to see our younger firefighters really have to begin to grapple with growing up and what is the next step for them.”
Rater told us that Vince’s death is revealed in the trailer because “we care about our fans, and to play Vince’s death as a gimmick or a [gasp moment] didn’t feel right. It felt awful actually. So it’s like, prepare the fans and really get into Vince’s dead early on and how is this going to impact us?”
What do you think will happen in the Season 4 premiere, especially after these first details, for the Leones? Scroll down to check out all the photos from the episode, then let us know your predictions in the comments section below.
Bears Recent $43 Million Addition Already Close to Getting Labeled a Bust
The Chicago Bears took a gamble when they added veteran Grady Jarrett to their defensive line this past offseason.
It’s a gamble that has yet to pay off. Chicago was hoping to get a proven disruptor on the interior of the defense who could both pressure QBs and help shore up run defense. So far, that hasn’t happened. Instead, Jarrett is moving quickly toward earning the dreaded “bust” label.
The Bears’ offseason commitment to Jarrett underscores how much they believed in his impact. They inked the two-time Pro Bowler to a three-year pact worth around $43 million, including $28 million guaranteed.
With his guaranteed salary stretching into 2026, there’s no easy way out of this deal, which is why it’s already starting to look like a mistake by general manager Ryan Poles and company.
Bears Defense Has Started Slow Out of the Gate in 2025
Chicago’s defensive struggles might be making Jarrett’s current lack of production stand out even more. The Bears have been gashed on the ground and inconsistent at generating pressure, issues that directly overlap with what Jarrett was signed to help fix. Heading into Week 6, Chicago is ranked 31st against the run, giving up almost 165 yards on the ground per game.
Through four games, Jarrett has recorded just four total tackles, three QB hits and no sacks while playing slightly more than half of Chicago’s defensive snaps. His overall PFF grade (55.7) is currently ranked 112th out of 186 qualifying interior defensive linemen.
As it stands, it’s unclear whether Jarrett is slow ramping up due to age and injury issues, or whether Chicago’s defense is just taking longer than anticipated to get rolling, Jarrett is 32 years old and is still working his way back from an ACL tear he suffered in October 2023. He managed 53 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 2024, but a lingering knee issue has landed him on injury reports this fall and could be limiting his explosiveness.
Grady Jarrett Needs to Start Producing for the Chicago Bears ASAP to Avoid Being Labeled a Bust Signing
GettyChicago Bears DT Grady Jarrett is already flirting with the bust label heading into Week 6.
While Jarrett was named a team captain leading up to the season and has been a solid leader in the locker room, he wasn’t paid solely to provide veteran leadership. He was brought in as a tone-setter. With so much guaranteed money and so little production, the optics of his signing are going to sour quickly if the tide doesn’t turn. October and November will be huge for Jarrett, as he needs to show that he can still be a difference-maker on the defensive line.
Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen thinks injuries across the entire defense are a huge reason his unit has struggled early on.
“When you have a lot of moving parts, it makes it a little bit challenging,” Allen said, via 670 The Score’s Chris Emma. “So, hopefully we can get guys back, stay healthy and develop a little bit of continuity within the group. There’s something to be said about guys being able to work together for extended periods of time. When you’re able to do that, you kind of understand where each piece to the puzzle is going to fit.”
Jarrett’s one of the guys the Bears want to see healthy, but since he’s not practicing even after the team’s bye week, there’s definite reason to be concerned.
