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Worcester marks 26 years since Cold Storage Warehouse fire that killed 6 firefighters
No Firefighter Thinks It Will Be Their Last Day
No firefighter goes to work believing it will be their last day alive. They rise with the same hope as anyone else, kiss their families, lace their boots, and step into the unknown with courage. Firefighting is not about chasing danger. It is about answering a call to protect, to serve, to stand in the gap when others cannot. Each alarm is met not with fear, but with resolve. Each shift is a promise kept to community and to one another.
The risks are real. Every firefighter carries forward the wisdom of those who came before, and every act of service adds to a story larger than themselves. Their sacrifice is not measured in finality, but in the countless lives safeguarded, the homes preserved, and the hope sustained.
Today we honor that truth. We remember that courage is quiet, that service is selfless, and that resilience is born in the face of uncertainty.
And we commit ourselves, as colleagues, as communities, as families to never let their promise be forgotten.
Worcester will commemorate this month 26 years since the Cold Storage Warehouse fire, a five-alarm blaze that took the lives of six firefighters. This article is a Fire Rescue1 Article and we honor and pay tribute to those that lost their lives at this fire.
What happened at the Cold Storage Warehouse?
On the evening of Friday, Dec. 3, 1999, a shoving match between two unhoused people occupying the building caused a candle to fall onto a pile of clothing, according to a U.S. Fire Administration technical report.
An alarm box was struck at 6:13 p.m. and firefighters were sent to the scene of the blaze.
Members of the Worcester Fire Department were notified of the possibility of people inside the building. The Rescue 1 crew began a search but by 6:46 p.m., the team made a call reporting that they were lost inside the building.
This fire was reported to be started by two homeless people in a vacant commercial building. It was 1999 when this fire started, look at your first, second and third in areas of the communities you serve, or you run mutual and auto-aid with. How many vacant structures are there? Since Covid and years of difficult economic times there are thousands of vacant structures in most every state. No Firefighter Thinks It Will Be Their Last Day When They Go to Work!
Here is the Full Fire Rescue1 Article: binged.it/4pZPM28
Sam DiGiovanna is a 40-year fire service veteran. He started with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, served as Fire Chief at the Monrovia Fire Department, and currently serves as Chief at the Verdugo Fire Academy in Glendale. He is Director at Large with the California State Firefighters Association, Associate Director for the California Training Officers Association and a consultant for www.Lexipol.com