Worcester's Fallen Six

Today is the 9th anniversary of a tragic fire in Worcester where six brave men lost their lives in a terrible warehouse fire. Two homeless people living in the abandoned warehouse started the fire with a candle and fled. Thinking the two people were still inside, the firefighters rushed into rescue them.

This story brings me to tears without fail every time I read it or hear anything about it. It was huge news at the time for Massachusetts and it still is. I remember freshman year Intro to Communications citing as the most personally memorable local coverage in my mind.

Here is the link to some pictures to see the magnitude of a flaming, six-story old building needy of a five-alarm call:
http://www.fallen-heroes.org/Photos/fire1.html

For a really great profile of the story, read this Esquire article (doing way more justice to these men than I ever could, telling so much more of the story than I could ever tell): http://www.esquire.com/features/perfect-fire-0700?click=main_sr

There have been some good things to come out of this (relatively speaking). Denis Leary (who had close ties to the men that died) has lead many efforts to provide Massachusetts firefighters with better equipment and training, as well as producing "Rescue Me." He has taken his efforts out of state for other tragedies such as 9/11 and help in New Orleans.

I always make it a point to say hello to police officers, state troopers, and firefighters when I see them at the State House. Mostly it is because I believe in good karma and I really understand that at a basic level, these people are dedicating their lives to protect you. It is stories like these that give a check on what these people are really there to do and I think it is important to thank them for that.

xoxo Shannon