While the answer to Season 3’s biggest question has already been revealed, Thieriot explained that it was all done out of respect for the character. “You’re not just trying to use a central character’s death as a cliffhanger and as a gimmick. There’s a weird fine line there,” he explained. But who decided that it was time for Vince to die? “I think it was a big group decision. A decision like that is not one that is easy for anybody. It’s so layered and it’s such a process,” Thieriot said. He continued:

“No one is above the show and everything is about the greater good of the show itself, what makes the show better, and what allows us to push these stories further, and create good television, good drama, and character growth. It was a long process of coming to this conclusion. I don’t know that there was one person who was like, ‘This is what we need to do.’ But eventually it just became clear to everyone and the writing was on the wall that that this was the way things would probably and should probably go.”

Killing Off Vince Was Not an Easy Decision for ‘Fire Country’

However, making tough choices is part of life, but what matters is how they are made. For Fire Country, it was important to remain faithful to the character even in his final moments. “Nobody knows the stakes of this job better than firefighters, and what their families can possibly go through. It was important to show that not only did he really care about this community and fighting fires, but at the center of that, he cared about his family the most. That was the center of his world. So, we had to show that he was willing to put his own life at risk for those people, and everyone and everything that he believed in and stood for and everything that he loved,” explained Thieriot. As for how the show honors Vince going forward, he explained:

Fire Country returns on CBS on Friday, October 17. Stay tuned to Collider for further updates.