Memorial remembers "Worcester 6" on 24th anniversary of Cold Storage Fire
WORCESTER - The "Worcester 6" firefighters who were killed in the Worcester Cold Storage fire on December 3, 1999, were remembered Sunday - the 24th anniversary of the fire - with a ceremony at the Franklin Street Fire Station, the site of the fire.
Lt. Thomas Spencer, Lt. Timothy Jackson Sr., Lt. James Lyons III, and firefighters Jeremiah Lucey, Paul Brotherton and Joseph McGuirk died after becoming trapped in the fire. The fire was started in the windowless building by two unhoused people. Some of the firefighters got disoriented in the fire and others died trying to save them.
Lucey was the cousin of actor, comedian and Worcester native Denis Leary. Leary established the Leary Firefighters Foundation in 2000 in memory of the "Worcester 6." The foundation fund equipment and training for firefighters across the nation.
The fire led to several changes in procedure. Several sons of the Worcester 6 have since become Worcester firefighters themselves.
