Chicago Fire exit: Here's what happened to Blake Gallo

Chicago Fire has been seeing a lot of changes in time for the season 12 premiere, which aired on Wednesday, Jan. 17. After a finale that left lives in the balance in season 11, we’ve been looking forward to getting these answers. But then actor Alberto Rosende, who plays firefighter Blake Gallo, announced he was exiting the series. So how was the actor written out of the show?

Rosende joined the show in 2019 and his character came with a tragic backstory. After losing his entire family in a fire, he became a firefighter in order to honor their memory. 

While Gallo’s time started off rocky, he has truly come into his own as a firefighter. Plus, there was always a question of if he would end up with Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith).

Even though we are saying goodbye to Gallo, we still hope there may be mentions of him in the future on the show. So where is he going?

What happened to Blake Gallo on his last episode of Chicago Fire?

Gallo’s aunt came back into his life in season 11 after years of struggling with her own demons. Now, he will be following her back to Michigan where he will also be closer to other family members. His aunt told him about other cousins he didn’t know he had, so he will get to know family he never knew before.

He will be moving to a firehouse in Detroit. While he didn’t appear in the entire episode, we did get to see his final goodbye with everyone at 51. Chief Boden assured him he already talked to the fire Chief in Michigan about him, and Gallo praised everyone for what they taught him on the job.

Of course, the most touching goodbye was when he had a moment with his best friends, Violet and Darren Ritter (Daniel Kyri). It was tough, but a fitting tribute to their friendship before one of them departed. As Boden says at the end of the episode, "Anyone who is part of 51 will always be part of 51."

Chicago Fire airs on NBC on Wednesdays at 9/8c and is available on Peacock.