As noted above, long-time viewers of "Chicago Fire" can cite a distressingly extensive list of favorite characters who have been written off into one kind of oblivion or another on the show. But according to a recent, unscientific Reddit poll conducted by Chi-Hard fan u/Choice_Ad_9735, the one death that viewers found toughest to take was that of firefighter Brian "Otis" Zvonecek, portrayed by Yuri Sardarov. Out of more than 260 ballots cast in the informal poll, the likable, good-natured Otis garnered a total of 126 votes or 47.2% of those participating at the time. Perishing from injuries suffered as he gave his life to save his fellow firefighters during a mattress factory fire in Season 8, Otis is fondly remembered for his dying words, spoken in Russian to BFF Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso): "Brother, I will always be with you" (via One Chicago Center).
Coming in next in the polling was another much-beloved character, Lauren German's paramedic Leslie Shay, with 94 votes and 35.2% of the total cast. Notably, German and Sardarov shared a touching scene on the couch together in Season 2, Episode 4, "A Nuisance Call," when Otis comforts a crying Shay. Farther down on the list of most-mourned losses are Chief Evan Hawkins (Jimmy Nicholas) at 43 votes, and lastly, Benny Severide (Treat Williams), the father of another fan-fave, firefighter Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney), getting only four votes. Summing up the peril faced by the entire cast every week on "Chicago Fire," a fan posting on the same Reddit thread concluded, "It shows how dangerous firefighting really is, that it could happen to anyone."
