WORCESTER, Mass. — The six Worcester firefighters who died battling the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. blaze 16 years ago were remembered Thursday night.
Boston.com reported that the Worcester Fire Department sounded a bell at 6:13 p.m. at the Franklin Street fire station, the time that the call for the fire came in on Dec. 3, 1999. The ceremony honored Lt. Thomas Spencer, 42, Lt. Timothy Jackson Sr., 51, Lt. James Lyons III, 34, Jeremiah Lucey, 38, Paul Brotherton, 41, and Joseph McGuirk, 38.
The new Franklin Street fire station was built on the same spot where the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire took place, according to MassLive.com.
Six hours after the first alarm sounded, about 300 firefighters from Worcester and neighboring towns continued to fight the blaze. Crews later recovered the bodies of the six missing firefighters. Tom Levesque, 37, and Julie Barnes, 19, were arrested on involuntary manslaughter charges after officials found that they had knocked a candle over and left the burning building.
In 2010, all charges against them were dismissed and they received probation, according to the report.
Today, with great sadness and pride, we remember our @WorcesterFD1009 brothers @IAFFMemorial @denisleary @LearyFF pic.twitter.com/nGmAHVBip0
— NK Fire IAFF L1651 (@NK_Fire) December 3, 2015
My cousin Jerry Lucey on the left. He loved his job w @WorcesterFD and @PaulLaRocheJr on the right. #NeverForget #W6 pic.twitter.com/wPuOAyToHH
— Denis Leary (@denisleary) December 3, 2015
Today we stop to remember our brothers who made the ultimate sacrifice Dec. 3, 1999. Please continue to keep... https://t.co/ici93PEre9
— Worcester Fire 1009 (@WorcesterFD1009) December 3, 2015