Worcester Memorial Ceremony Remembers Firefighter Christopher Roy

WORCESTER (CBS) - Firefighters and community members gathered at the corner of Main and Agawam streets Thursday to remember the Worcester residents who died in fires in 2018, including firefighter Christopher Roy.

Roy, 36, was killed while fighting a fire on Lowell Street in Worcester in December. He had been a part of the Worcester Fire Department for two-and-a-half years.

"This is another sad day for the fire department for the city of Worcester," said Worcester Fire Chief Michael Lavoie. "Guys just don't forget the sacrifice that he made."

"We live about four blocks from here," said William Breault, chairman of the Main South Alliance for Public Safety, of the day Roy died. "The morning of the fire we could smell the smoke, never knowing how tragic and bad that'd be."

The ceremony also marked the deaths of 85-year-old Maria Montalvo and 71-year-old Jacqueline Cardinal.

The annual memorial ceremony marked the 29th anniversary of a Florence Street fire that killed a mother and her three children, all under the age of 4. The memorial, created by Main South Alliance For Public Safety, commemorates everyone who has died in a fire since 1986 and serves as a reminder for fire safety.

"This is something we've done every year," said Breault said, adding that since 1950, 305 Worcester residents have died in fires.

The names will be engraved on the memorial in the spring.