The Legacy of the Worcester 6
Ten years ago today, six firefighters from Worcester, Mass., died in a devastating fire at an abandoned cold-storage warehouse. The firefighters became lost in the maze-like six-floor building while searching for two homeless people and fire extension.
The firefighters’ bodies remained missing more than a week after the fire. Despite that, the city held a memorial service. More than 30,000 firefighters attended and CNN televised the service.
The Worcester tragedy touched off a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of vacant and unsecured buildings and on scene safety. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health investigators recommended steps to minimize the risk of similar occurrences. Besides inspections of vacant buildings, NIOSH recommended that departments:
- Ensure that the Incident Command System is implemented at the fire scene.
- Ensure that a separate incident safety officer, independent from the incident commander, is appointed when activities, size of fire or need occurs, such as during multiple-alarm fires, or responds automatically to pre-designated fires.
- Ensure that incident command always maintains close accountability for all personnel at the fire scene.
- Use guide ropes and tag lines securely attached to permanent objects at entry portals and place high-intensity floodlights at entry portals to assist lost or disoriented firefighters.
- Ensure that a rapid-intervention team is established and in position.
- Ensure that officers enforce and firefighters follow the mandatory mask rule per administrative guidelines established by the department.
Unfortunately, these same concerns would be raised and the same recommendations would be made again seven years later when nine Charleston, S.C., firefighters died in a sofa warehouse fire on June 19, 2007.
In March 2000, the ever-controversial Chief Charlie Rule (Ret.) wrote, “Did the Worcester Six Die in Vain?” The questions he raised still are poignant. But as Rule noted, “the fire service can’t bring the Worcester Six back to life, but we can minimize the chance of such a tragedy happening again. That legacy would be an honorable tribute to those men, who left the service before their time. Their deaths were tragic, but it would be tragedy compounded if the fire service failed to learn from their deaths.”
Worcester Fire Department also chose another way to remember Firefighter Paul A. Botherton, 41; Lt. Timothy P. Jackson, 51; Firefighter Jeremiah M. Lucey, 38; Firefighter James F. Lyons III, 34; Firefighter Joseph T. McGuirk, 38; and Lt. Thomas E. Spencer, 42. Last year, the department built the Franklin Street Fire Station on the site of the fatal fire and dedicated it as a living tribute to the six fallen firefighters.
The Franklin Street Station, a state-of-the-art facility, was recognized by our Station Style Judges with a special 2009 Judges’ Award. The land was donated by the owner of the cold-storage facility. Designed by the Maguire Group, the station houses four companies and has a brick and cast stone exterior to fit into the traditional Worcester masonry. The memorial in the front of the station was designed by artist Brian Hanlon and Worcester Fire Chief Gerard Dio. Firefighter Sean O’Neil designed the layout, poured the concrete base, and set the granite, statue, and all the other components. Brick pavers were laid by the firefighters at Franklin Street.
We must not forget the Worcester Six. Their history must not be repeated.
