10 Saddest Station 19 Character Exits, Ranked

Station 19, a procedural drama about firefighters in Seattle, began as a spinoff of Grey’s Anatomy, though the show built its own audience over its seven seasons. Like its parent show, Station 19 was known for big emergencies and big emotions. The team of firefighters that served Station 19 came to the aid of Seattle citizens with grace and authenticity, often providing as much emotional support as they did physical support.

Though Station 19 had multiple captains over the years, they were primarily led by Andrea “Andy” Herrera (Jaina Lee Ortiz), who finally officially became captain in Season 7. By her side were firefighters like Maya Bishop (Danielle Savre), who was a former Olympic athlete, Victoria Hughes (Barrett Doss), who was Station 19’s most compassionate team member, and Robert Sullivan (Boris Kodjoe), a former Marine whom Andy was married to for a while. Over the show’s seven seasons, the characters experienced a lot of life, a lot of love, and a lot of loss.

Emmett Dixon Left an Important Mark

When Emmett Dixon joined Station 19 in Season 3, Episode 7, “Satellite of Love,” the audience first met him as Travis Montgomery’s hook-up, but it was quickly clear he was much more than that when he arrived at Station 19 as the new probie. Though Emmett’s time as a firefighter was short-lived, he remained involved in healthcare by working as a COVID-19 tester at Grey-Sloan Memorial and becoming a volunteer with Crisis One.

Things began to get rocky for Emmett and Travis when Travis admitted that he had been falling out of love with Emmett while on a call with Crisis One. Their relationship finally imploded at a birthday dinner for Emmett’s father, Michael Dixon, when, during an argument, Emmett finally said what they both knew — that they shouldn’t be together. Emmett was a valuable member of the Station 19 family, even when he was no longer a firefighter there, and he was Travis’ longest relationship on the show. His departure, even if it made sense for both of the characters and finally got Emmett to leave for art school, was a disappointment for fans of the relationship.

JJ Lau Made Miller a Single Father

Dean Miller met JJ Lau in Season 1, Episode 2, “Invisible to Me,” when she brought in her broken smoke detector while he was on desk duty at the fire station. They dated briefly, but their relationship ended because it was interfering with Dean’s job. When JJ returned in Season 3, Episode 4, “House Where Nobody Lives,” she showed up at Dean’s door after having gone on a celibate spiritual journey where she discovered she was pregnant with Dean’s baby.

After the baby was born, JJ refused to name her right away and eventually revealed to Dean that she had never planned on staying. Dean became a single father pretty quickly and had to decide whether he’d keep the baby — and what he’d name her. Though audiences didn’t spend a lot of time with JJ, her departure was particularly sad because of how it impacted Dean and the baby.

Michael Dixon Terrorized Station 19 Prior to His Death

Even though audiences mostly hated Michael Dixon, that didn’t stop his death from being a tough one. Dixon, who started his career as a police officer, cashed in a favor he had from the mayor of Seattle in order to be named the fire chief in Season 3, Episode 2, “Indoor Fireworks.” From then on, he seemed to make the lives of the firefighters at Station 19 harder and harder.

In Season 6, Episode 18, “Glamorous Life,” Dixon and his wife, Kitty (Tricia O’Kelley), were at the Firefighter’s Ball, which Kitty had helped coordinate when the floor collapsed. Trapped under a slab of concrete, Dixon’s admission that Travis was always his favorite of all the boys that Emmett brought home was only the first stomach twisting moment during Dixon’s death. When they finally got the concrete slab off, Travis continued compressions for over a minute, even though it was clear Dixon was gone. Most heartwrenching was Kitty’s reaction. She tried to climb down into the collapse and had to be held back by several firefighters. While Travis pleaded with Dixon to come back, Kitty began weeping. Her screams of “no” are unforgettable, no matter how much viewers disliked Dixon.

Andrew DeLuca’s Death Impacted Two Shows

The brother of Station 19 character Carina DeLuca, Andrew DeLuca, was primarily a character on Grey’s Anatomy but appeared several times on Station 19. DeLuca went through a lot while on Grey’s Anatomy — Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) assaulted him when he incorrectly assumed that DeLuca was sexually assaulting Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington), he dated both Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary) and Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), he dealt with the return of his bipolar father, he attempted to take the fall when Meredith committed insurance fraud, and he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder himself.

Near the end of Season 16 of Grey’s Anatomy, DeLuca met a young woman that he was sure was being trafficked. Due to his mental health struggles, which were just beginning to manifest at the time, people weren’t sure whether to believe him. When the trafficker reappeared at the hospital in Grey’s Anatomy‘s Season 17, Episode 6, “No Time for Despair,” he recruited Carina to help him track her down. The episode was a crossover with Station 19‘s Season 4, Episode 6, “Train in Vain,” where Carina, Ben, Maya, and Jack helped Andrew and the police arrest the trafficker. In the pursuit, Andrew was stabbed and had to be rushed to the hospital. It was a tough loss for the Grey-Sloan Memorial doctors, and Carina struggled heavily with her grief in Station 19‘s Season 4, Episode 7, “Learning to Fly.”

The Station 19 Firefighters Were Changed By Morris Hapgood

Many of the particularly devastating departures from Station 19 — or any show — are tough because audiences have time to get to know the characters well and build a connection with them. Occasionally, there is a character that is only in one episode that garners a similar reaction from viewers, and that is the case for Morris Hapgood, who appeared in just one episode of Season 7. The episode — Season 7, Episode 6, “With So Little to Be Sure Of” — was centered around Victoria Hughes, who was fighting for her job and for Crisis One. Morris Hapgood was a homeless veteran who had been helped by Crisis One and the Station 19 firefighters, and his story is told through flashbacks that show how the team connected with and supported him.

In “With So Little to Be Sure Of,” the team has done everything from providing Morris with clothing and a new tent to getting him an interview with the VA for housing support, so they all recognize the address of his encampment when it comes over the loudspeaker. So does Vic, who is on probation and can’t go out with them. The encampment is on fire, and while the team is there, they see Morris going back into his tent for his belongings just before the nearby gas cans explode. Upon returning to the firehouse, Andy tells Vic about what happened to Morris. Clearly, all of them are devastated, but it is Vic who has a breakdown at the end of their team debrief. Her response is several episodes in the making, as she has been struggling, but the loss of Morris is what tips her over the edge. When a character makes that much of an impact on the rest of the characters on the show, it’s hard not to be sad when they depart.

Jack Gibson’s Departure Was the Most Emotional

From his very first episode, Jack Gibson stole the hearts of viewers everywhere. Jack was such an important part of the Station 19 family that when he collapsed at the end of Season 6, Episode 18, “Glamorous Life,” fans were very concerned about what might happen to him. When the show returned for its seventh and final season, audiences learned in Season 7, Episode 1, “This Woman’s Work,” that Gibson would no longer be a firefighter due to scarring in his brain.

In Season 7, Episode 2, “Good Grief,” Jack learns that he won’t be able to return to Station 19, which devastates him. Though he initially leaves without saying much of a goodbye, Theo and Ben retrieve him for his farewell dinner. While there, Andy hands him a permanent marker, and they get down on the floor underneath the big dining table. Eventually, the rest of Station 19 joins them, sharing tears and laughter as Jack signs his name on the underside of the table like many departed firefighters before him. For fans, the moment was bittersweet. It was a beautiful moment honoring Jack, but it was sad to consider that he would no longer be on the team. When the episode aired, cast members shared that they had learned about the show’s cancelation just before filming the scene under the table, which made it all the more emotional for them and for their fans.

Pruitt Herrera Left Behind a Great Legacy

From “Stuck,” Station 19’s premiere, there was always an underlying concern that Pruitt Herrera would die at any moment. Though he beat the mesothelioma he was diagnosed with in “Stuck,” he learned he had scrotal lymphoma from his doctor, Miranda Bailey, in Grey’s Anatomy‘s Season 16, Episode 9, “Let’s All Go to the Bar.” He decides to forego treatment because he wants to be able to enjoy the rest of his life instead of being sick from the chemotherapy.

In Season 3, Episode 12, “I’ll Be Seeing You,” Pruitt is hanging out at the fire station with some of his former colleagues and listening to the radio while the team is fighting a fire at a storage facility. When he hears that things are getting worse inside, he races to the storage facility to help. Knowing that they weren’t able to vent the roof because it was too dangerous, Pruitt orders Maya, who is the Captain, to move the ladder so that he can go up. When he vents the roof, giving the smoke room to escape, he falls through the ceiling into the fire. Andy deals with her grief for the next several episodes. The loss of Pruitt had a huge impact on the firefighters at Station 19 and fans of the show, as he played a major role in most of the character’s lives.

Ryan Tanner’s Death Changed Andy Herrer

Andy’s childhood best friend and high school sweetheart, Ryan Tanner, was a police officer who often worked with Station 19 on calls. He also spent a lot of time with Pruitt, who was like a father to him and often helped Andy and her father figure out how to talk to each other when they weren’t communicating. Near the end of Season 2, Ryan begins dating Jenna, another police officer. Together, they moved down to San Diego to pursue EMT certification, but eventually, Ryan returned to Seattle, having realized he was still in love

In Season 3, Episode 2, “Indoor Fireworks,” Ryan shows up on Andy’s doorstep, but before they can have a real conversation, it becomes clear that a neighbor is in distress. Andy and Ryan run to her aid and call Pruitt and his partner to take the neighbor to the hospital so she wouldn’t have to pay for the ambulance ride. They stay behind to watch her children, a baby and a little boy named Milo, who was playing cops and robbers with Ryan. When Milo brings out his mother’s actual gun and pulls the trigger, not realizing it isn’t a toy, Ryan jumps in front of Andy, taking the bullet. His death nearly broke Andy and was equally devastating for fans, many of whom enjoyed the relationships Ryan had with the Herreras.

Dean Miller’s Death Rocked the Firehouse

Dean Miller was definitely a fan favorite, so his death was one of the most devastating for viewers. As a character who had been on the show from the very first episode, Dean had strong relationships with all the characters on the show, though he was closest to Jack and Vic. His death was particularly sad due to the fact that he was a single father and left behind a young daughter.

In Season 5, Episode 5, “Things We Lost in the Fire,” the Station 19 firefighters were at a neighborhood fire when tragedy struck. First, Vic was struck by a power line, knocking her unconscious while up on the ladder, and then there was an explosion that injured the captain of Station 23 along with Dean. Ben and Jack rushed Dean to Grey-Sloan Memorial, but he died before they got to the hospital. The loss was difficult for all the characters, and it impacted them not just for the next few episodes but through the end of the series. Dean’s death was one of the most devastating moments of the whole series.

Lucas Ripley’s Love Story Ended in Tragedy

Despite being on Station 19 for just 16 episodes, the loss of Lucas Ripley is often considered one of the most devastating deaths on the show. Ripley and Victoria Hughes had begun to date, unbeknownst to most people on the team, and in Season 2, Episode 14, “Friendly Fire,” Ripley suggests that they get married. Though they initially dismissed the idea as crazy, eventually, Vic realized that she wanted to marry him and proposed. At the end of “Friendly Fire,” while Vic was waiting for Ripley at “their” dinner, he collapsed outside a flower shop.

Ripley, who was desperate to get to Vic and accept her proposal, left the hospital in Season 2, Episode 15, “Always Ready,” before learning he had been exposed to hydrofluoric acid. By the time Sullivan convinced Ripley to check himself into the nearest hospital, it was too late. Sullivan, Andy, and Ben found Vic and got her to Ripley at the hospital, where he told her he was going to say yes before dying in her arms. Vic ended the episode lying on the hoses on top of the engine, her team around her. Ripley’s death was crushing, as was his funeral service in Season 2, Episode 16, “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” The loss changed Vic and continued to impact her throughout the show, and it was a death that audiences talked about for seasons to come.