paul knight decided it was time for a tragic exit for one of the main characters. the man who was to be killed was sub officer john hallam. hallam was killed off in 1996 (series 9) during a huge warehouse fire. he and his colleague, leading firefighter geoff pearce, were attempting to rescue four teenage girls. they were on an unstable gantry above a blaze in the basement. hallam held the gantry steady for pearce as he walked across with one of the girls. as hallam attempted to cross, the gantry cracked and hallam fell to his death. the writers developed a storyline about pearce feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt after the accident, which would lead to him considering a transfer.