Archives for worcester
Boston District Chief draws a line and keeps troops safe; says first thought upon arrival was Worcester cold storage fire.
Early in July District Chief Pettaway had walked through Norfolk Avenue working on a preplan. Known as the Boston Ice Company, the 200′ x 80′ structure had been vacant since a fire in 1963. Progressive disrepair led the owner of Cumberland Cold Storage next door to shut down the utilities and leave that structure vacant as well. On Saturday evening Engine 14 arrived and struck the second alarm. (more…)
Flames breaks through the roof of the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center, 123 McKeon Road during a 3-alarm blaze Monday March 22, 2010. (Rick Cinclair / T&G Staff Photo) Worcester Telegram & Gazette Note the vacant building placard in the lower right corner.
Firefighter John Smith spoke with his comrades after leading a squatter from the burning warehouse. (John Guilfoil/Boston Globe)
In this ever evolving safety culture of ours, there are some who make the hard choice of whether or not to search strictly by knowledge of a building’s occupancy alone. Prior to arriving on the scene they have set their mind fast to an unchangeable bias that says they will not go to dark places deep within an larger unknown, for they have to save themselves and their ‘brothers’ first. (more…)
Fomer Boston Fire Department District Chief Robert Winston has allowed us to share his rememberance of the Worcester fire. Thank you Chief.
It was December 3, 1999 when an abandoned cavernous warehouse was set afire by two homeless people who “lived” in the hulking structure. This was the Worcester Cold and Storage Warehouse that was located in the City of Worcester, Massachusetts. The scene of this fire was to become one of fiery collapse, death, heartache, heroism, and camaraderie under the most extreme firefighting conditions. (more…)
This week marks the 10 year anniversary of the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Company fire. The tragic blaze claimed the lives of six firefighters and was the catalyst for the push to remove vacant buildings from the landscape of Worcester as well as the rest of the nation. As the fire service looks upon the tragic fire, local Worcester-area media looks at the efforts to reduce vacant buildings. Twice as many vacant buildings are listed now than five years ago when the building marking system began. (more…)
Honoring a Brother
No comments"Why did you go?" a reporter asked…
(more…)