New Memorial In Worcester Honors Firefighters Killed In Line Of Duty
WORCESTER (CBS) -- A ceremony was held in Worcester on Sunday to dedicate a new memorial that honors city firefighters who were killed in the line of duty. The memorial has a special section for the Worcester Six, who all died in the infamous blaze at the cold storage warehouse in 1999.
"Today we come together as family friends and community members to dedicate this honor and permanent memorial to those who left this world too soon while serving the community they loved so much," said Acting Fire Chief Martin Dyer.
There was a ribbon cutting and wreath-laying ceremony at what is now called the Worcester Fallen Firefighters Memorial, Walkway, and O'Connell Field located right next to fire headquarters. The memorial consists of a new footbridge, turf athletic field, and several monuments where the names of all those who died while serving on the Worcester Fire Department will be on display forever.
During the ceremony, the names of fallen firefighters were read.
For the Fournier family, this day is long overdue. Three generations came to take part in Sunday's ceremony in honor of their dad, Ronald Fournier.
"This is a milestone for my dad. It's been 50 years. He died in January 1971. He was injured in a fire carrying a woman out of a building, he did not die at the scene, he died two days later," said daughter Karen Ricardi.
The entire memorial site allows Worcester families who lost loved ones both, active and in the line of duty, a place to walk and to reflect.
"Worcester has experienced a tremendous amount of loss," said Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito. "What's wonderful about today is that there's a forever place that you can come and community can come and see their names, understand what that story is."