As One Chicago Wednesdays return to NBC, Chihards found themselves missing the beloved Joe Cruz.
When it comes to staring down blazing infernos on the daily, it helps to have a friend, and no one will deny that Chicago Fire’s Joe Cruz (Joe Miñoso) is one of the most loyal firefighters that Firehouse 51 has ever seen. But fans were missing out on the One Chicago fan favorite upon the return of Season 14.
Chicago Fire’s fall finale was an emotional watch as Lt. Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) and his longtime mentor, Office of Fire Investigation Captain Tom Van Meter (Tim Hopper), found themselves trapped in a blazing building after an arsonist’s attack. The midseason premiere (“A Man Possessed”) saw Severide and Van Meter pull off a valiant escape, but Van Meter sustained significant injuries during the tussle. After Van Meter was whisked away to Gaffney in respiratory distress, Severide’s search for the arsonist reached a fever pitch as he skipped out on sleep to narrow down the lengthy list of suspects.
Amid this chaos, the Firehouse 51 family was keen to check on their steadfast Lieutenant, especially his wife Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo), who gave Chihards a little heads-up about why Cruz was missing in action.
Where was Joe Cruz on Chicago Fire this week? (January 7, 2026)
While pandemonium was breaking out in the Windy City, it turns out Cruz was enjoying a rare weekend off to celebrate his anniversary with his wife. Despite the marital bliss, once Cruz found out about Severide being trapped in a fire, you better believe he gave Stella a call to get an update about his longtime friend. Stella visited an exhausted Severide to check in and let him know Cruz had reached out.
“Cruz just called, checking in on you,” Stella told her husband, aware that he’s feeling down in light of Van Meter’s condition. “He said he wanted to leave his anniversary weekend to come back.”
Severide half-heartedly chuckled at the thoughtful gesture, but shook his head. “Tell him not to,” he told her, and Stella confirmed she already had.
Joe Minoso says he has the “best role in the One Chicago universe”
As a One Chicago O.G. and one of the most dedicated first responders Firehouse 51 has ever seen, we can rely on Cruz to return to his longtime post. Cruz has navigated so many hectic twists and turns over the years. In an interview with TV Fanatic, Minoso said that he’s grown with Cruz in many of the same ways.
“It’s like we’re the same age, pretty much. In my 10 years, I’ve gotten married. I have a mortgage. I have four dogs. I have far more people to think about and take care of than I ever did when I first started this job,” Minoso said. “I think it’s the same for Cruz.”
The Chicago Fire mainstay added that he has enjoyed seeing the many shades of Joe Cruz and the evolution that has come from each of those chapters.
“I’ve loved seeing him evolve,” Minoso said. “Cruz was like a Zumba instructor, goofball firefighter for the first three years. And then he joined squad, and that was a big glow-up. And then he got married. I tell people I have the best role in the One Chicago universe because I’ve gotten to do so many different things and play so many sides of this character. I don’t know what else to ask for, frankly.”
Watch Season 14 of Chicago Fire on Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC and the next day on Peacock.
