Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire
Encyclopedia
The Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire was a fire that began on December 3, 1999, in Worcester, Massachusetts
. It started when two homeless and mentally disabled people, Thomas Levesque and Julie Ann Barnes, who were living inside the warehouse, knocked over a candle after an argument earlier in the afternoon. Both fled without reporting the fire to emergency services. The structure was located five blocks east of the Worcester central business district, near the Union Station train station and adjacent to Interstate highway 290. The fire would eventually grow to five-alarm status and rage for six days before being brought under control. Firefighting companies from the city and from neighboring towns were called to respond. Six Worcester firefighters died in the fire.
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 non-stop from Burma, where he had been attending a diplomatic function). Also in the procession were firefighters from around the United States, Canada
, and from Dublin, Ireland.
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.
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
. It started when two homeless and mentally disabled people, Thomas Levesque and Julie Ann Barnes, who were living inside the warehouse, knocked over a candle after an argument earlier in the afternoon. Both fled without reporting the fire to emergency services. The structure was located five blocks east of the Worcester central business district, near the Union Station train station and adjacent to Interstate highway 290. The fire would eventually grow to five-alarm status and rage for six days before being brought under control. Firefighting companies from the city and from neighboring towns were called to respond. Six Worcester firefighters died in the 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
DCU Center
The DCU Center is an indoor arena and convention center complex, located in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts....
(then called the Worcester Centrum). The funeral procession was broadcast on several national news networks and was attended by President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, Vice President Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
, Senator Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
and Senator John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
(who flew non-stop from Burma, where he had been attending a diplomatic function). Also in the procession were firefighters from around the United States, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and from Dublin, Ireland.
City leaders plan to erect a memorial to the Six in Institute Park
Institute Park
Institute Park is a public park in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded on donated land in 1887, it is located next to the campus of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The park is in size....
, 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
Worcester Sharks
The Worcester Sharks are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League . The franchise is located in Worcester, Massachusetts and play their home games at the DCU Center in Downtown Worcester. The Sharks and the city of Worcester hosted the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic.-History:On...
AHL
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
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
Denis Leary
Denis Colin Leary is an Irish-American actor, comedian, writer and director. Leary is known for his biting, fast paced comedic style and chain smoking...
'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
Leary Firefighters Foundation
The Leary Firefighters Foundation provides funding and equipment to fire departments throughout the United States.On December 3, 1999, six firefighters in Worcester, Massachusetts were killed in the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire, a massive fire set by squatters...
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 Police officer A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force... 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 Heavy rescue vehicle A heavy rescue vehicle is a type of specialty firefighting or EMS apparatus. They are primarily designed to provide the specialized equipment necessary for technical rescue situations such as auto accidents requiring vehicle extrication, building collapses, confined space rescue, rope rescues and... 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 Dispatcher Dispatchers are communications personnel responsible for receiving and transmitting pure and reliable messages, tracking vehicles and equipment, and recording other important information... 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 device PASS device A PASS device also known as an ADSU , is a personal safety device used primarily by firefighters entering a hazardous environment such as a burning building, which sounds a loud audible alert to notify others in the area that the firefighter is in distress.The PASS device will automatically... s 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 Mutual aid (emergency services) In emergency services, mutual aid is an agreement among emergency responders to lend assistance across jurisdictional boundaries. This may occur due to an emergency response that exceeds local resources, such as a disaster or a multiple-alarm fire. Mutual aid may be ad hoc, requested only when... to the scene. They brought a Thermal imaging camera Thermal imaging camera A Thermal Imaging Camera is a type of thermographic camera used in firefighting. By rendering infrared radiation as visible light, such cameras allow firefighters to see areas of heat through smoke, darkness, or heat-permeable barriers. Thermal imaging cameras are typically handheld, but may be... with them. This was to be used in assisting the firefighters locate the missing firefighter Firefighter Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations... s. |
|
| 7:53PM | Car 4 reports the thermal imager has stopped working. |
| 7:58PM | Car 3 signals for all companies to evacuate Emergency evacuation Emergency evacuation is the immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Examples range from the small scale evacuation of a building due to a bomb threat or fire to the large scale evacuation of a district because of a flood, bombardment or... the building Building In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:... . |
The Worcester 6
| Photo | Rank | Name | Age | Hometown | Company |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firefighter | Paul Brotherton | 41 | Auburn, MA | Rescue 1 | |
| Lieutenant | 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 |
See also
- Leary Firefighters FoundationLeary Firefighters FoundationThe Leary Firefighters Foundation provides funding and equipment to fire departments throughout the United States.On December 3, 1999, six firefighters in Worcester, Massachusetts were killed in the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire, a massive fire set by squatters...
- Charleston Sofa Super Store fireCharleston Sofa Super Store fireThe Charleston Sofa Super Store fire occurred on June 18, 2007, in Charleston, South Carolina, United States, in which a flashover and structural collapse contributed to the deaths of nine Charleston firefighters.-Fire and collapse:...