Anniversary of Worcester fire marked with reflection, sadness

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) -- One year ago Sunday, six firefighters stormed into a flaming warehouse and perished inside, sending a city into shock, leaving 17 children fatherless, and forever leaving a mark on those who continue to fight fires.

"We just can't forget it. It's a part of us now," said District Chief Ronnie DeFusco. "One guy built a curio cabinet to keep all the plaques and pictures in. We're all remembering it in our own way."

The fire that tore through the Worcester Cold Storage facility on Dec. 3, 1999, caused the worst loss of life among firefighters from a building fire in America in more than 20 years.

Killed were Paul A. Brotherton, 41; Joseph T. McGuirk, 38; James F. Lyons III, 34; Lt. Thomas E. Spencer, 42; Timothy P. Jackson, 51, and Jeremiah M. Lucey, 38.

Two firefighters became disoriented after going into the building in search of homeless people believed to be inside. Four others followed to try to help. None emerged.

From the beginning, the nature of the tragedy touched people in a way few other fires had. Six days later, 30,000 firefighters and 10,000 civilians--including President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore--gathered for a massive memorial service.

Colleges offered free tuition to the children of the firefighters. Anna Maria College awarded posthumous master's degrees in fire science and administration to each of the six firefighters. Comedian Denis Leary, a cousin of Lucey, started a memorial fund and brought celebrities such as Michael J. Fox and Elizabeth Hurley to town for a benefit hockey game.

More than $7 million was raised from various funds for the families.

In the past year, the men have been memorialized in many ways. In October, they were awarded the state's Medal of Honor.

"Never before was I hit with such an overpowering blow of sadness," Worcester Fire Chief Dennis Budd recalled at that ceremony. A month later, the 28-year department veteran retired.

Part of the emotional burden that the fire department and the families carry is compounded by the knowledge that some of the firefighters knew they were in grave danger just before they died.

"We can't locate the stairwell, give us some sign as to which way to go," one firefighter radioed from inside the burning warehouse. "We are running low on air, and we want to get out of here."

Another firefighter radioed a similar plea.

"We need air, we need air," he yelled into his radio. "I'm sharing a tank off me right now. We are lost. You've got to send a rescue team up here for us."

Three of the men's widows sued the owner of the abandoned warehouse in May for failing to keep out homeless people. The lawsuit is pending.

Other family members vowed to try to find some positive result from the death of their loved ones.

"Hopefully, we're going to go forward in the campaigns to change the way we go about treating abandoned buildings," said Judy Leary, another of Lucey's cousins.

A task force created by the city with the help of a $100,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management recently made recommendations about preventing abandoned building fires. One of the recommendations requires building owners to notify the city of plans to vacate buildings.

Authorities originally charged two homeless people with manslaughter for setting the fire. But charges later were dropped against Thomas Levesque, 38, who has mental disabilities, and Julie Barnes, 20, a high-school dropout who gave birth to Levesque's son while in jail months after the blaze. Levesque has entered a residential support program and Barnes now lives with her sister's adoptive parents in Ellsworth, Maine.

On the day the charges were dropped, Louis P. Aloise, Barnes' attorney, said that the best thing that came out of the tragedy was that both Levesque and Barnes found caring environments they may not have otherwise found.

To commemorate the first anniversary of the deaths, a simple ceremony is planned for 6:13 p.m. Sunday--the time the first fire alarm was sounded exactly one year earlier. The fire chief says the service will be "subtle and quick."

Mayor Ray Mariano says the community is still searching for a site for a permanent monument. He says he has spent the past several days going over the thousands of essays and poems written by school children about the tragedy.

"We wanted very much for this tragedy to have a positive purpose, and indeed it has," he said.

One third-grader's essay proves his point.

"I have noticed a lot during my nine years of living," the child wrote, "but I have never noticed that people put their life on the line everyday. ... I now know that true heroes are firefighters and police officers and other people who would do anything for our community."