Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire
Details
Reports that homeless people were possibly inside the engulfed warehouse caused fire-rescue personnel to search the six-story building. The searchers’ task was made extremely difficult by the large size of the building’s interior and the highly flammable composition of its insulation. Nearly a century old, the interior walls had been progressively covered with various forms of insulating materials, including cork impregnated with tar, polystyrene foam, and polyurethane foam, to a thickness of 18 inches. Once ignited, the large amount of fuel, fed initially by the large volume of air in the building, became virtually inextinguishable.
The six-story building’s exterior walls were constructed of approximately 18 inches of brick and mortar, with no windows above the second floor. The lack of available windows prevented firefighting personnel from making an accurate initial assessment of the fire. Initial breaching of lower-floor doors, combined with venting the building by smashing an elevator-shaft roof skylight, effectively turned the building into a huge chimney. With the fire rapidly accelerating out of control, rescue teams facing near-zero visibility became lost with available breathing air depleted. Despite repeated radio calls for help, along with activation of audible location alarms, six firefighters, who have since become known as the Worcester 6, perished in the blaze. It took eight days to find and recover the remains of the six men.
Services for the firefighters were held in the DCU Center (then called the Worcester Centrum). The funeral procession was broadcast on several national news networks and was attended by President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Senator Ted Kennedy and Senator John Kerry (who flew overnight from Vietnam to attend the funeral).
City leaders plan to erect a memorial to the Six in Institute Park, behind the Grove Street fire station. A new fire station now sits on the land formerly occupied by the cold storage facility, which was demolished immediately after the fire investigation. Also, a banner hangs from the rafters in the DCU Center to commemorate the Worcester 6, was raised by the Worcester Sharks AHL team on December 3, 2009.
Manslaughter charges against Levesque and Barnes were initially dismissed, but were reinstated on appeal. They received probation. Julie Ann Barnes was adopted by a family in Maine, the Kings, who had adopted Julie’s sister.
The building’s owners were not charged.
Denis Leary’s first cousin, Jerry Lucey, and his childhood friend and high school classmate, Lt. Tommy Spencer, were both victims of the fire. In an effort to find a positive way to deal with this overwhelming loss, Denis established The Leary Firefighters Foundation in the spring of 2000.
Timeline
Time
Incident
6:13PM
The first alarm was dispatched.
6:14PM
Engine 1 arrived on location reporting they had heavy smoke showing.
6:17PM
Car 3 requests the 2nd alarm be struck.
6:20PM
Ladder 1 reported fire on the second floor, and had multiple 2-1/2″ lines being put in service for the suppression efforts.
6:24PM
Fire alarm tells command that they have a report that a citizen told a police officer that “may be two people that live in that building.”
6:32PM
Car 3 asks Rescue 1 if they’ve checked on the rumor of the two homeless people. Rescue 1 reports they have made a preliminary search, and haven’t found anyone.
6:40PM
Car 2 requests the 3rd alarm be struck.
6:46PM
Rescue 1 reports to command that they are lost on the fourth floor and they are running out of air.
6:47PM
Rescue 1 calls Fire Alarm asking them to clear the air, and they have an emergency.
6:47PM
The Fire Alarm dispatcher sounds the alert tones.
6:52PM
Car 2 requests the 4th alarm be struck and Chief Budd be notified.
6:53PM
Car 3 directs Rescue 1 to activate the PASS devices to aid the other companies in locating them.
6:55PM
“They are activated,” referring to the PASS devices. This is the last audible transmission from Rescue 1.
7:04PM
Ladder 2/Portable 2 asks Portable 1 his location. Portable 1 replies “Good question.” They are now lost with Engine 3 on the fifth floor.
7:08PM
Ladder 2 requests for the Chief to send a crew to the stairwell and yell, so they can find it. They also report they are running low on air.
7:15PM
“Ladder 2 to command we’re done…” This is the last transmission of the four man search team from Ladder 2/Engine 3.
7:26PM
Car 1 requests the 5th alarm be struck.
The Millbury Fire Department came on mutual aid to the scene. They brought a Thermal imaging camera with them. This was to be used in assisting the firefighters locate the missing firefighters.
7:53PM
Car 4 reports the thermal imager has stopped working.
7:58PM
Car 3 signals for all companies to evacuate the building.
The Worcester 6
Photo
Rank
Name
Age
Hometown
Company
Firefighter
Paul Brotherton
41
Auburn, MA
Rescue 1
Firefighter
Jeremiah Lucey
38
Leicester, MA
Rescue 1
Lieutenant
Thomas Spencer
42
Worcester, MA
Ladder 2
Firefighter
Timothy Jackson
51
Hopedale, MA
Ladder 2
Firefighter
James Lyons
34
Worcester, MA
Engine 3
Firefighter
Joseph McGuirk
38
Worcester, MA
Engine 3
References
^ http://www.usfa.dhr.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/tr-134.pdf
^ http://wbztv.com/local/worcester/new.worcester.fire.2.868308.html
US Fire Administration Official *Report
Telegram & Gazette – Worcester, MA
Firehouse.com’s information page
Flynn, Sean. 3000 Degrees: The True Story of a Deadly Fire and the Men Who Fought It. New York: Warner Books, 2002. ISBN 0446528315
Worcester Sharks Website
See also
Leary Firefighters Foundation
Charleston Sofa Super Store fire
External links
Fallen Heroes
Flynn, Sean, “The Perfect Fire,” Esquire magazine, July 2001
Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation Report
Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial Park
Coordinates: 421537 714734 / 42.2602N 71.7927W / 42.2602; -71.7927
Fire portal
Categories: 1999 disasters | 1999 fires | 1999 in the United States | Fires in Massachusetts | Building fires in the United States | History of Worcester, Massachusetts
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