Local Firefighters To Honor 'Worcester 6' On 21-Year Anniversary Of Deaths

Firefighters across the city of Worcester, Massachusetts will remember six brave firefighters on the 21-year anniversary of their deaths on Wednesday (December 3.)

A moment of silence will be held to honor the firefighters killed in a blaze at the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. on December 3, 1999, MassLive.com reports. Worcester firefighters have honored the lives of Lieutenants Thomas Spencer, Timothy Jackson Sr., James Lyons III and Firefighters Jeremiah Lucey, Paul Brotherton and Joseph McGuirk each year on December 3 since their deaths 21 years ago.

The city will not be holding a public memorial event this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The six firefighters were among more than 75 firefighters who responded to the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. building that was fully engulfed after two homeless people staying inside knocked over a candle.

The Worcester 6 were all killed inside the 110,000-square-foot building, which MassLive.com described as having "a maze-like structure inside."

“Two of our members became lost and running out of air. Many of our firefighters then entered the building in a valiant effort to locate their brothers, some pushing it to the limit within seconds of their own demise,” Worcester Fire Chief Michael Lavoie told MassLive.com during last year’s 20th-anniversary memorial for the Worcester 6.

In 2019, t-shirts and teddy bears preserved from the days after the 1999 fire were showcased in an exhibit at Worcester's Union Station with public attendance, including visitors who traveled from outside the city, MassLive.com reports.

The department has dealt with several tragedies during the month of December, including the deaths of Firefighter Christopher Roy, who was killed while battling a fire on Lowell Street in 2018, and Firefighter Jon D. Davies Sr., who was died in a three-decker building on Arlington Street.

A small group of Worcester firefighters also gathered to honor Lt. Jason Menard, who heroically pushed a fellow firefighter out of a window to safety, during the one-year anniversary of his death on November 13.

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