As December rolls into the city, the streets get colder, the wind sharper and the steps of men and women in the Worcester Fire Department get a little heavier.
Recent history has shown December to be a tough month for the department with the Dec. 3, 1999, deaths of six firefighters at the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. and the death of Firefighter Jon D. Davies Sr. on Dec. 8, 2011, during a blaze at 49 Arlington St.
"We kind of want to skip December except for Christmas," Fire Chief Gerard A. Dio said. "It sounds kind of strange, but it is a tough month for us."
There won't be a formal ceremony for Lt. James F. Lyons III, Lt. Thomas E. Spencer, Firefighter Paul A. Brotherton, Lt. Timothy P. Jackson Sr., Firefighter Jeremiah M. Lucey and Firefighter Joseph T. McGuirk. The department agreed after the 10-year anniversary to hold a ceremony every five years. But firefighters will still gather informally at the location, now a fire station, the chief said.
A ceremony for Firefighter Davies, who died Dec. 8, 2011, while fighting a blaze at 49 Arlington St., will be held Saturday at 6 p.m. at the fire site.
Firefighter Davies' younger brother, Robert N. Davies, said his family will gather Saturday in the city to reflect. He is not sure whether the family will attend the ceremony. Firefighter Davies, who was 43 when he died, has a son, Jon D. Davies Jr., in the department now as a firefighter.
"Personally, I will go back and visit the scene on Saturday," Robert Davies said. "I don't know if I am ready to be there with a group of people or go there and reflect by myself."
Firefighter Brian Carroll was trapped in the basement of 49 Arlington St. after the second-floor of the three-decker collapsed underneath him and his partner on Rescue 1. He thought his close friend was OK. Firefighter Carroll lay trapped and didn't learn until after he was freed that Firefighter Davies had died.
The home that once stood on Arlington Street is gone. Outside there is a makeshift memorial for Firefighter Davies.
"I haven't been back up to the site yet," Firefighter Carroll said. "I'm sure Dec. 8 is going to be a little difficult for me going up there since I haven't been back ... I really didn't plan on going back up. I'm going to do it. I think I need to."
The events that unfolded that day rush back to Firefighter Carroll as the day gets closer.
He was also there on Dec. 3, 1999, when the department lost six firefighters in a raging inferno. Firefighter Davies worked that fire, too. Firefighter Davies escaped before the building started to crumble, his brother said.
"That was obviously a giant loss for all of us here," Firefighter Carroll said. "It went on for years that we felt that, and it's still not over."
Robert Davies, 42, also remembers the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire. His brother was supposed to meet him the following morning to go hunting. He remembered thinking his brother couldn't be hurt, and eventually discovered that his brother was fine.
Collecting himself in a telephone interview, Robert Davies recalled his brother's proclamation that he was going to get a tattoo of the Grim Reaper on his shoulder in the spring of 2011.
"You're a firefighter and you want a Grim Reaper on your shoulder?" Robert N. Davies asked his brother.
But Robert Davies knew his brother believed the tattoo showed he wasn't afraid of death. When Firefighter Davies' time came, he would be at peace.
"I think about that after the fact now," Robert Davies said. "For him to accept that, for whatever may come to pass, shows his strength and character."
No one could predict the Arlington Street building would collapse the way it did.
Three-decker fires are the department's specialty, and nothing gave fire officials the belief it was going to collapse, Chief Dio said.
Firefighters were searching for a person they thought was still inside when the building fell.
"This thing was knocked down (the fire) but the building still fell down," Chief Dio said.
The lessons from the Arlington Street and Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire have been taught to the new recruits in the Fire Department. The memorials of those lost over the years are located in the same building where new firefighters train.
"What we have learned from the Dec. 3 fire has saved lives across the country," Chief Dio said.
"What happened to my brother, the three-decker collapsed in a way no one could predict," Robert Davies said. "Certainly I think it serves as a lesson going forward, and even if it saves one life going forward, then at least something good came out of it."
With the memories of all these brave men in their minds, the firefighters run out in
cold December nights when the box is struck. Their resolve remains steadfast. A fire is called out and they are there to protect the property and people of the city and one another.
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