Worcester Fire Department

The Worcester Fire Department (WFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Worcester, Massachusetts.^[4] The department serves an area of 39 square miles (100 km²) with a population of 183,000 residents.^[4]

Worcester Fire Department

Operational area
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
City	Worcester
Agency overview[1]
Established	25 February 1835 (1835-02-25)
Employees	424 (2013)
Annual budget	$33,940,872 (2013)
Staffing	Career
Fire chief	Michael Lavoie
EMS level	BLS
IAFF	1009
Facilities and equipment[2][3]
Divisions	2
Stations	10
Engines	13
Trucks	5
Tillers	2
Rescues	1
HAZMAT	1
Rescue boats	1
Website
Official website
IAFF website

Notable incidents

Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse fire

Main article: Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse fire

On December 3, 1999, six firefighters were killed at the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire.^[5] The fire occurred at 6:13 p.m. in an abandoned cold storage warehouse at Box 1438, 266 Franklin Street. Six Worcester firefighters died while looking for two homeless victims thought to be trapped in the blaze.^[6] The fire went to five alarms and took six days to bring under control. Those killed were:

• Lieutenant Thomas Spencer, 42, Ladder 2
• Firefighter Paul Brotherton, 41, Rescue 1
• Firefighter Jeremiah Lucey, 38, Rescue 1
• Firefighter Timothy Jackson, 51, Ladder 2
• Firefighter James Lyons, 34, Engine 3
• Firefighter Joseph McGuirk, 38, Engine 3

Services for the firefighters were held in the DCU Center (then called Worcester's Centrum Centre). The funeral procession was broadcast on several national news networks and was attended by President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Senator Ted Kennedy and Senator John Kerry (who flew non-stop from Burma, where he had been attending a diplomatic function).^[7] Also in the procession were firefighters from around the United States, Canada, and from Dublin, Ireland.^[8]

Because his cousin, FF. Lucey, and high school friend, Lt. Spencer were killed in the fire, actor/comedian Denis Leary, a Worcester native, started the Leary Firefighters Foundation in 2000 to give aid and support to many fire departments, particularly those suffering from budget shortfalls by providing them with new equipment.^[9]