Sixteen years ago, a group of firefighters who have become known as the “Worcester Six” died while battling the flames that overtook the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co building.
On Thursday, the Worcester Fire Department will remember the six men with a 6 p.m. gathering at the Franklin Street fire station, where a bell will sound at 6:13 p.m., the time that the call for the fire came in on Dec. 3, 1999, The Worcester Telegram reported. The ceremony will honor Lt. Thomas Spencer, 42; Lt. Timothy Jackson Sr., 51; Lt. James Lyons III, 34; Jeremiah Lucey, 38; Paul Brotherton, 41; and Joseph McGuirk, 38; all of whom died at the scene. On that Friday evening 16 years ago, firefighters responded to the alarm to find a blaze they believed came from two separate fires engulfing the building, according to multiple Boston Globe stories from that year.
Twenty-seven firefighters entered the abandoned building to search for two homeless people who they believed were inside. As the flames became more difficult to tame, most retreated, but two firefighters were separated from the group and trapped inside, according to the Globe.
“In two to three seconds, you couldn’t see six inches in front of your face,” Worcester District Chief Michael McNamee told the Globe in 1999. He led the first group of firefighters into the building that evening.