The Worcester 6

I didn't get a chance to post this the other day, but Tuesday was the 14th anniversary of the Worcester Cold Storage fire that killed six firefighters December 3, 1999. This particular incident has always had a special significance to me, not just because it occurred in my home state, but because it was the first highly publicized multiple line of duty death to occur in my fire service career. At the time, I had no idea how substantial its impact on the fire service would be.

During that time period, there were many changes and new ideas emerging in the fire service. Things such as risk assessment, accountability systems, thermal imaging cameras, mayday training, 2-in/2-out, rapid intervention, and large area search techniques were all new and controversial topics in the fire service.  This tragic fire, and the LODD report that followed, served as catalysts to speed up the acceptance and implementation of the aforementioned practices and topics. Many things that we take for granted today were paid for in blood by Brothers: Paul Brotherton, Jerry Lucey, Timothy Jackson, James Lyons, Joseph McGuirk, and Thomas Spencer.  Their sacrifice has had an eternal impact on the fire service.

If you have never read the article, "The Perfect Fire" published in Esquire magazine, do yourself a favor and read it. It can be found at the link below:

http://www.esquire.com/features/perfect-fire-0700?click=main_sr