Pruitt Herrera

"Sometimes I wonder if I did my daughter a disservice. Maybe I should have pushed her to do things outside the station growing up. I wonder about that sometimes. But, as a kid, she never wanted to spend time anyplace else. She always knew that this is what she wanted, and there was no talking her out of it, ever. There wasn't much talking her out of anything, actually."

- Pruitt Herrera

Pruitt Herrera was the former Captain of Station 19 of the Seattle Fire Department and the father of Andy Herrera.

Early Life
There was a windstorm in 1993, during which Pruitt boarded up the Tanners' windows.

After the 9/11 terrorist attack, Pruitt went to New York to help out. He only came home when Andy flew to New York and demanded that he come home.

Pruitt responded to the scene when Claire Sullivan was involved in a car accident. He was upset with Ripley and Sullivan for not arriving promptly when their station was the first called out.

Training Ben
Ben joined the station as the newest recruit, while his wife still wasn't on board with his decision. During a training exercise, Ben ran off after finding out that Bailey had had a heart attack. He then called Pruitt to let him know he was quitting his job in order not to cause Bailey more stress. However, Bailey talked to him about doing what makes you happy and convinced him to call his boss back and reverse the decision.

Cancer Diagnosis
Tiffany's house caught on fire when her laptop cord sparked on her bed while she was in the bathroom. Pruitt's team responded to the fire. He sent Maya and Andy in to do search and rescue while Dean, Jack, and Travis put out the fire. Maya and Andy quickly found Tiffany and brought her outside, where she said Charlie was still inside. With the fire extinguished, they searched for Charlie and quickly found a puppy. Dean carried Charlie out and handed him over to a grateful Tiffany.

While fighting an apartment fire, Jack and Pruitt got separated when Jack entered a kid's room to look for a child. When he came back out, he couldn't find Pruitt because of the smoke. He had to tell Andy he couldn't find her dad and she and Maya came to help look for him. They found him on the floor, unconscious and pulseless. They tried to take him out, but they noticed the fire was choking, so they couldn't go out of the apartment. Once Andy got a pulse on her father, they strapped him to Jack and the four of them jumped out the window onto landing pads. Pruitt was then taken to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, where he had surgery and then was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He knew he had to step down as Captain immediately. He said Jack could be in charge until they filled the job. When Andy protested that, he promoted her to lieutenant and said they could share the responsibilities until a new captain was officially chosen.

Once Pruitt was released from the hospital, Ryan came to pick him up after seeing that Andy was busy with a call. He tried to take Pruitt home, but Pruitt insisted on going to the station instead, where he congratulated the team on a successful rescue and making the news.

From there, Ryan took him home, where he checked the news for the fire the team was called to next.

Pruitt told Andy of his intent to find a desk job somewhere. She didn't like the idea because she wanted him at home healing. Despite this, he went behind her back and Jack hired him to work reception at Station 19.

After Pruitt overheard Travis and Dean talking about Dean trying to get with JJ, Dean decided to go back to Pruitt for advice. Pruitt suggested he just go to JJ if he wanted her. He suggested Dean go get a new incident report from her because hers had been damaged and when Dean pointed out that it hadn't, Pruitt spilled juice on it.

While looking for some paperwork, he saw Jack and Andy in an intense moment and realized they'd been sleeping together. He confronted the two of them and told them they had to tell the team or he would tell them himself.

Ben brought his wife over to visit and she was surprised to see Pruitt at the station instead of at home. After the team was called out, she talked to him about letting his body heal, but he tried to say that he was better off helping people at the station than sitting at home.

Pruitt got sick at work, which was noticed by Dean Miller, though Pruitt brushed it off when Dean asked about it. Later, he told Dean he'd decided to go home and rest and asked him not to say anything to anyone else about what had happened. Dean agreed. Instead of going home, Pruitt went to the hospital, where he asked them to page Bailey.

He asked Bailey to give him medicine to help him get through his work, but she insisted on a full exam first. He decided it wasn't that bad and left the hospital. Later, at the station, Dean and Ben sat Pruitt down and told him they'd both noticed he was sick and knew he needed medical attention. He tried to refuse, but when he nearly collapsed, Andy took him to the hospital, despite his objection that she needed to stay at the station.

At the hospital, tests showed he wasn't responding to his treatment anymore. Bailey suggested adding a new agent. Pruitt agreed to it. Andy wanted to be there for her father, but he said she didn't have to do that. She revealed to him that she'd promised her mother she'd look out for him. Suddenly, he started crashing. Bailey stabilized him and determined he'd had an allergic reaction to the new agent. Despite this, she wanted to continue the treatment as planned. He told her he wanted his daughter kept up to date and involved in all his treatment from that point on.

Insistent that his opinion should have weight in the decision of who should run the department, Pruitt was interviewed by Ripley in his hospital room while he received chemo. At the end of the interview, Pruitt said he wouldn't recommend either of them for the Captain position.

When Pruitt learned from Vic that Andy and others were trapped in a garage that was heating up, he remembered a time when he'd lost part of his team when a similar thing happened. He came down to the scene and coached Andy to fight and figure out a way out from the inside. It helped and Andy and the others were able to use a water heater to escape. Later, while they were at the bar celebrating, Pruitt confessed that he hadn't backed either Andy or Jack for Captain, which upset Andy.

Skyscraper Fire and Sullivan's Promotion
While the firefighters battled a skyscraper fire, Pruitt called Ryan because he was having trouble breathing and didn't want to pull an aid car away from the skyscraper. Ryan showed up just after Bailey arrived because she was worried about him having missed his scheduled appointment. They found Pruitt not breathing and pulseless. Bailey started CPR and Ryan went to get his car so they could get him to the hospital.

Pruitt was rushed to the hospital, where he was quickly stabilized. They discovered that a clot was the reason why he couldn't breathe. The chemo had caused the clot, but it was also working on the cancer, meaning that Pruitt might only be a few treatments away from remission.

Pruitt came into the station to do his laundry because his machine was broken. While he was there, he tried to talk to Sullivan about his future at the station, but Sullivan brushed him off and said to enjoy his retirement. While was there, Ben was called about getting information regarding the storm drains in Seattle, because Max Forrester was trapped and they were trying to rescue him. Pruitt, along with Travis, immediately stepped in to help make calls to get information. With their help, Max was successfully rescued.

Sullivan called in Pruitt to help him mend things with the team. Pruitt suggested that Sullivan find the heart of the team and use that person to gain the respect of the others.

Friendsgiving
After separating from Miranda, Ben wanted to feel a sense of togetherness, so he planned "Friendsgiving" with Jack at Dean's houseboat and invited the rest of the team. However, while they were still preparing the meal, the team was called away due to accidents from the windstorm. Greg, Ryan, Pruitt, and Grant surprised the team by bringing Friendsgiving to the station. Meal prep continued, but a call came in and Ben, Dean, Travis, Maya, Vic, and Ripley headed out to cover it, leaving Jack alone at the station with the civilians. They played poker and waited for the team to return. Pruitt noticed that Jack was struggling and didn't seem to be sleeping, so he asked Jack about it, but Jack angrily brushed him off.

While they ate, Pruitt stepped aside with Dean and asked him about Jack. He shared his concern and said it wouldn't resolve on its own. He then called the whole team out on not getting Jack help. With his help, they staged an intervention, which prompted Jack to spew vitriol at them. Ripley interrupted his ranting and said that they weren't grounded anymore and no one had heard from Andy and Sullivan for over an hour. He was called back to headquarters, so he left Pruitt to stand in as interim Captain and they went out to find Andy and Sullivan. With difficulty, they found them and rescued them, but not before Shannon died.

Four months later, Pruitt presented Andy with a Medal of Valor. They then had a party in her honor.

Acting as Captain
While Sullivan was out recovering, Pruitt stepped up as Captain. When Sullivan was ready to return, Pruitt said he wasn't ready to step back until he felt Sullivan understood his role as Captain, not only making sure everything was clean and orderly, but in serving the community and looking after his team. He specifically asked Sullivan about a walk-in from the neighborhood who hadn't come in at all during his time as interim Captain.

Selling His House and Fling with Reggie
Pruitt decided to sell his house and look for a condo to buy. After the house was listed, he got some offers, including an all-cash offer from someone who had a tiny puppy that he turned down because he thinks tiny puppies are weird. He also consulted with Ryan to look into the criminal backgrounds of all the people who had put in offers. He also confessed to Ryan that he felt he'd become too comfortable in the house and he wanted to move forward.

After selling his house, Pruitt started packing things. When he ran across some things of Andy's, he brought them to her at the station, saying Reggie had told him it was easier to get rid of things before the move than to sort them while moving in.

Scrotal Lymphoma and Death
At some point, Pruitt found out that there was something going on between Andy and Sullivan. He came by her and Maya's apartment and yelled at her for sleeping with firefighters in her own station, which he deemed bad for the reputation of female firefighters. She assured him she hadn't slept with Robert but that it wasn't his business if she had. He disagreed and said her decisions reflect on his legacy. She then threw him out but he demanded she respect her father. She then left her own apartment instead. Maya then peaked out of her bedroom and told him it was late. He apologized for waking her and left.

When Pruitt began noticing symptoms again, he secretly admitted himself to the hospital under Bailey's care. He made her promise not to tell Ben. She told him she was finding out the baby's sex later that day and did an ultrasound, which revealed a mass that they took a biopsy of. She returned with the news that it was a scrotal lymphoma. He told her he wouldn't go through chemo again as it made him sicker than the cancer itself last time. She stressed that the cancer was very aggressive and that it would metastasize to his lungs in less than six months, giving him a limited life expectancy. He then pointed out that Bailey was bleeding. Carina came in and found she was having a miscarriage. Pruitt stayed with her to comfort her until Ben arrived. Pruitt went to drink at Joe's bar, where Ben joined him. Pruitt told him his late wife had had a miscarriage before Andy. Ben asked him why he was at the hospital. Pruitt stayed quiet and seconds later, a car crashed into the bar. Pruitt, Ben, Jackson, and Nico assessed the situation. Several of Grey Sloan's residents were seriously injured and needed medical attention. With the entrance blocked by debris, Nico and Pruitt unsuccessfully tried the back exit, which was blocked by a truck from the outside. He assisted the doctors in taking care of the residents and the driver and passenger in the car until Station 19 cleared a way into the bar and freed everyone. Andy was surprised to see him and asked why he was there. He dodged and commented on the time it took them to get into the bar.

Personality
Headstrong and hard on the outside, Pruitt was actually caring when he showed it, especially around his daughter, Andy.

Elena Herrera
He was married to Andy's mother.

Reggie
Pruitt sold his house through a real estate agent named Reggie. During this process, they pursued a mutual attraction.

Andy Herrera
Pruitt was his daughter Andy's primary inspiration to become a firefighter. He also functions as her mentor. He taught her to run a hose when she was seven. When Andy decided to move out and told him about it, he was upset at the change in their relationship. After Andy moved out, Pruitt struggled with remembering to shop for groceries and keeping a plant alive.

Jack Gibson
He was Jack's mentor.

Career
Pruitt was the Captain of Station 19 of the Seattle Fire Department until his cancer diagnosis, after which he had to step down.

While recovering, he agreed to be a temporary receptionist at Station 19, often answering calls and fetching papers from the Captain's office.

Notes and Trivia

 * He is the first character of Station 19 to be mentioned on Grey's Anatomy.
 * He was 62 at the time of his first cancer diagnosis.
 * He would get quiet when he was mad.
 * He and his daughter lived at 2301 Field Pine Place until he sold the it.
 * He would talk to telemarketers until they hung up on him.

Notable Episodes
The following episodes are Pruitt-centric or are otherwise very informative about his life:
 * I'll Be Seeing You

Memorable Quotes

 * Pruitt: You're both adults. You can technically do what you want. But it disturbs me that you never considered the consquences of your actions, what it would mean, not just to me, but to the station. If I had known about the two of you, I would've never put you both up for the captain position. You're trying to lead this station. This team puts their trust in you blindly. You don't deserve their trust if you can't be honest with them.

Appearances
Pruitt Herrera Pruitt Herrera