Our Thoughts and prayers are with the Worcester Fire Department and the families of the Worcester 6 today.
11 years ago on this date, Worcester Fire Department responded to a report of a fire in a vacant cold storage warehouse. On arrival Companies found a well advanced fire in the windowless 6 story brick structure.There was a report of squatters trapped in the building, Firefighters were sent in to conduct searches, Conditions deteriorated rapidly within the well insulated building and 6 brave firefighters were lost deep inside.
a poem by Tom Kenney, Providence Fire Dept.
We came to be known as the Worchester Six
But we were just firemen; the ones God had picked
We were called to respond to a fire one night
When we arrived on the scene there was no one in sight
A fire in a warehouse the dispatcher said
We were told it was empty, we thought, victims, instead
A faint wisp of smoke hung in the air
The fire lay waiting deep inside, somewhere
A cold winter’s wind cut through the cold
We assume someone’s inside no matter what we’re told
Engine-men were stretching their hose up the stairs
as Ladder-men gathered tools getting prepared…
…for the task lying before us to search and to vent
This is our responsibility; it’s why we’re sent.
As we entered the building looking up toward the sky
No windows were visible, we’d have to vent high.
So we climbed up six flights to access the roof
Light smoke in the stairway serving as proof
