Cold Storage fire: T&G story of Dec. 4, 1999
This story originally appeared Dec. 4, 1999
WORCESTER - Six firefighters were missing last night - and at least some of them were presumed dead - as a massive fire raged through an aging brick warehouse near Interstate 290, sending thick black smoke across the city and drawing an army of emergency crews downtown.
The blaze in the former Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. building broke out about 6:15 p.m, roared to life and spread rapidly as alarm after alarm was called. By just after 8, when an urgent evacuation order was sounded, the five-story warehouse was fully engulfed, with flames shooting more than 100 feet into the air and visible for miles.
There was immediate fear for the fate of the first firefighters who entered the building, and the radio traffic reached a fever pitch as those going in rushed to find them and companies scrambled to account for their members.
"It's been fifteen minutes," a worried fire official said early on. "This is not good. This is not good at all."
Later, Deputy Fire Chief Gerard Dio said the attempt to find the men was complicated and heartbreaking."There are six individuals in there who are confirmed missing, but the sections in the building are divided pretty good," he said, adding that the families of the firefighters had been notified of the situation.
"We never give up hope," Deputy Chief Dio said. "We just never give up hope."
He confirmed that some of the missing men's portable packs had run out of air, and that they used a radio to sound a "mayday."
When they first entered the building on Franklin Street, the firefighters were met with extreme heat and oppressive smoke.
Deputy Fire Chief John Fenton said there was heavy fire on the second floor, and firefighters heard "crackling over their heads." The blaze apparently started in an elevator shaft on the second floor, he said.
Initially, fire officials were concerned that homeless people using the building as a shelter might have been trapped inside.
The grim-faced firefighters had little to say about their missing comrades.
"It doesn't get any worse than this," said one, carrying an empty air tank at his side.
"You can't see in there with the heavy smoke," said a soot-covered firefighter who left the building to get a fresh air pack. "You really have to watch out that you don't get lost."
"It's a nightmare in there," said another fatigued firefighter, leaning on the side of a truck to catch his breath and wipe a filthy hand across his sweat-covered forehead.
Officials said two firefighters initially entered the building, concerned that people might be inside. They got into trouble, and four additional firefighters went inside.
"We sent in a team of four with safety lines to try to rescue the initial crew," Deputy Chief Dio said.
Things got progressively worse as the evening wore on.
State police were called in to close the interstate and direct traffic, while members of the firefighters' families were brought together at St. Stephen's Church on Hamilton Street. Officials would provide no names and few details about who was missing, or the nature of any injuries.
The state fire marshal was quickly asked to begin an investigation. The medical examiner's office in Boston was called, and body bags were brought to the area, which came to resemble a disaster scene. Agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms arrived, as did representatives of the American Red Cross.
Firefighters emerging from the huge warehouse - which had few windows and thick steel doors that had to be cut up the middle with circular power saws - described the smoke as impenetrable. They were unable to even see the stairwells, some said.
As they mounted their search, the crews made frantic efforts to keep air packs filled. They began replacing spent ones at 7:30 p.m.
A half hour later, the cry was: "All companies, evacuate the building immediately."
After a short time, the dense smoke grew even thicker. Flames poured out of the few windows, and it was feared that parts of the building would collapse.
Early on, the building had little outward appearance of the raging fire that would later hit five alarms and send flames leaping into the night sky. Smoke drifted from the roof and from a few windows on the first floor.
Aerial scopes positioned on Franklin and Arctic streets poured steady streams into windows and onto the rooftop. As the volume of fire increased inside, flames broke out the front windows on Franklin Street and burst through the roof. Some trucks were placed on the highway to battle the flames.
The Worcester Cold Storage building, on Franklin Street just behind the Kenmore Diner, is a Worcester landmark of sorts that dates back at least to the turn of the century.
It was used as part of a meat-packing and slaughterhouse operation beginning around 1905. More recently, it was one of a number of properties in an area bounded by Interstate 290 and Franklin, Grafton and Suffolk streets to be acquired by Framingham businessman Ding On "Tony" Kwan.
Kwan walked along the periphery of the fire lines last night, grim-faced and silent. He was not willing to speak with reporters.
In June, the Worcester Redevelopment Authority awarded an $89,000 contract for a feasibility study on developing a bioscience park in the area.
All hopes for use of the building now appear to be dashed.
But the fears are for people, not for the loss of property.
State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan noted that the tragedy's toll was visible on the faces of the firefighters who continued battling the inferno while they waited for another chance to search for the men missing inside.The last time a firefighter died in Worcester was in the early 1960s.
Linda Bock, Nick Kotsopoulos, Betty Lilyestrom, Carol McDonald, John J. Monahan, Richard Nangle, James P. Sacks, Kathleen A. Shaw, Shaun Sutner and Jay F. Whearley of the Telegram & Gazette Staff contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Cold Storage fire: T&G story of Dec. 4, 1999
