Station 19 Loses Another Firefighter in Tragic Gas Line Explosion Episode

[Warning: The following contains spoilers from the Nov. 11 episode of Station 19. Read at your own risk!]

We were promised an emotional crossover event forStation 19 and Grey's Anatomy's return after a three-week hiatus, and TGIT delivered. Fans watched the first hour of the crossover with bated breath as it looked like Vic (Barrett Doss) might be the firefighter to not survive a gas line explosion threatening to take out an entire Seattle neighborhood after she was electrocuted while spraying water from the truck ladder. However, it was Dean (Okieriete Onaodowan) who ended the episode flatlining after a second explosion. Ben (Jason George) and Jack (Grey Damon) still hadn't given up on CPR'ing Dean back to life when the credits rolled on the first half of the crossover, but Grey's Anatomy confirmed he didn't make it.

"It's been a pleasure being Dean. I have Shonda Rhimes, Stacy McKee, Krista Vernoff, Paris Barclay, and ABC to thank for allowing me to bring him to life," Onaodowan said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "I am grateful I got to work with the most loving, kind and dedicated crew in network TV. And most importantly, thanks to the fans for showing Dean so much love. I hope he has inspired you to change your world for the better. Be the change!"

The tears didn't stop there as Vernoff also weighed in on saying goodbye to the actor. 

"I am a better artist and human for having had the opportunity to work with Okieriete Onaodowan," she also said in a statement to THR. "I am heartbroken by the loss of Dean Miller and that I no longer get to write for Oak. Oak has an expansive spirit and was ready for and craving new artistic horizons — and I truly can't wait to see what he does next. It will be powerful, it will be deep, and it will be courageous because Oak is all of those things."

What makes Dean's death extremely tragic, besides the fact that we'll be losing a beloved member of the Station 19 family, is that his heroics in saving Hughes after her electrocution finally made her realize that he's in love with her, a secret fans and Dean have been sitting on for over a full season. Dean had kept his mouth shut because Hughes was so happy with Theo (Carlos Miranda) and because he didn't want to risk ruining their friendship, but now it seems the cat is out of the bag and Victoria will have to mourn her friend while forever having to wonder what would have happened if they had given a relationship a real shot. Something tells us Theo isn't going to be thrilled about that mourning process either. 

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It gets worse. As Andy (Jaina Lee Ortiz) pointed out in the episode, Dean's death leaves baby Pru essentially orphaned, and it's unclear who will take up the mantle of raising Dean's darling baby girl. Dean also leaves behind the Crisis One program, which trained firefighters and first responders to handle mental and social welfare cases in order to reduce police intervention. Vic was already preparing to step up as Dean contemplated a move to Oakland to start setting up the program in fire departments across the country, but now it seems that someone will have to oversee the entire program and ensure its future if Dean is no longer around to take it to the next step. 

Aside from Dean, Station 23's head honcho, Captain Aquino, was also injured in the second blast, getting impaled by a flying bar. He will sit out a few months to rehab the injury, leaving his captain's seat open for the time being. There are a lot of people who could vie for the job, including Andy, Maya (Danielle Savre), and Sullivan (Boris Kodjoe). Any one of those choices will bring a lot of internal drama within Station 23 and 19 for various reasons, so we also wait nervously to see how that shakes out. Of course, that won't be a concern until everyone has had a chance to process a life, and the firehouse, without Dean Miller present. 

Station 19 continues Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC.