By Scott J. Croteau
The Telegram & Gazette
WORCESTER, Mass. — On the morning of the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire, the city received a copy of an independent study of the Fire Department.
The wide-ranging report, which was recalled because of the fire and not released until three months later, listed many recommendations, including reorganization. For District Fire Chief Walter C. Giard, this meant many of the hats he wore at the time of the fire would be removed and he could concentrate on training, something he has been in charge of for two decades.
"For instance, although training was my main job title, I was also responsible for special operations, I also had the public information officer, I was the department safety officer and I was the department's information systems guy," Chief Giard said. "The company that did the study realized that I wasn't doing any one of them real good, only because I was divided up so much. I had a concentration of duties after that with training, which is what I like to do. I like to develop and deliver and get programs delivered."
The 59-year-old district chief, who plans to retire in August, said that after the fire he was able to concentrate more on training to address issues that arose from many reports focusing on the fire and the death of six of Worcester's finest and bravest.
"What things can we do now that may have prevented this incident? It was those recommendations that we worked on in training," he said. "For the first few years we went through a whole bunch of safety and survival stuff."
There was no making sense of the fire. Firefighters got help for their emotional stress, but were looking for something to grab onto. Chief Giard latched on to making members of his department experts in safety and survival.
Fire departments nationwide were tapped for advice, from Los Angeles to New York. Once fire officials gained the knowledge needed to make Worcester's department safer, they began speaking across the country, at no cost to the communities.
"From there things started to develop and people wanted to hear what we had to say," Chief Giard said. "It has to be a shared experience. It could happen to them. It's not likely and I hope it never does something this big, something where they lose six people."
The department is better trained and technologically superior now, but there is a fear the fire profession will become more dangerous as attrition continues with personnel.
"For years there has been a continuous attrition of firefighting resources due to fiscal woes. This is likely to continue," Chief Giard said. "Firefighters, with fewer and fewer resources, have struggled to deliver the same outcomes within the critical time period for my entire career."
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