Worcester Cold Storage Fire: Where Were You When You Heard?

WORCESTER, MA—People still remember it like it was yesterday. It left a devastating impression as vivid as 9/11, the Kennedy assassination or the Challenger disaster...at least around here.

Sunday, Dec. 3, marks the 18th anniversary of the Cold Storage building fire in Worcester that claimed the life of six firefighters from Worcester. When the vacant warehouse caught fire, officials were told that a homeless couple was still inside. Firefighters went in to try to save them, and six of them didn't make it out.

Biographies of the six fallen firefighters - Paul Brotherton, Timothy Jackson, Jeremiah Lucey, James Lyons, Joseph McGuirk and Thomas Spencer - can be found here.

The site of the former warehouse fire is now the Franklin Street Fire Station, which opened on Nov. 19, 2008 with a ceremony that was attended by many families of the Worcester 6. There is also a memorial created by Brian P. Hanlon at the site of the former Cold Storage building.

Not only did the tragic story dominate local news for weeks, but it rippled across the country and was covered by many national outlets, including a feature on 48 Hours.

Nearly a year after the fire, the CDC released a detailed reportof the event, and also recommended new safety standards to avoid any similar incidents.

Where were you on Dec. 3, 1999, when you heard the news of the fire?

Visit the Firefighters Memorial Facebook page here.

Photo via City of Worcester