AP/Michael Dwyer Christa Benoit of Holden, Mass., pays her respects at the site of the former Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse Sunday, Dec. 3, 2000, in Worcester. Inside the Anniversary • NECN RealVideo: Memorial Service News Report • WAV: WFD Moment of Silence (1.5MB) From WCUW • Worcester Remembers 6 Firefighters • One Year Later in Worcester • Carter: One Year Later - Where Do We Stand? • Students Honor Fallen Firefighters • Forums: Discuss the Anniversary • Complete Worester Coverage Related • Globe: Worcester relives heartache of '99 fire • NECN RealVideo: Memorial Service News Report • Herald: Firefighters' everyday risk deserves high honor • Herald: Worcester fights pain to honor sacrifice • Herald: Chief changed forever by `evil building' • Globe: The six for whom the bells toll Telegram & Gazette Coverage • Behind the tears and sorrow, chaplain saw strength in faith • Silence speaks volumes about dedication, public's appreciation • Spokesman was therapeutic role for father • Sons keep memory alive • Firefighter haunted by brother's death • Pain of losing friend an echo of Vietnam • Cruel lesson renewing safety aims • Support 'is never going to end' • 250 'time bombs' remain • Cold Storage blaze united Worcester • T&G Special Section Brotherton McGuirk Jackson Lyons Spencer Lucey

THEO EMERY
Associated Press Writer

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) -- With church bells pealing throughout the city, fire officials on Sunday placed wreathes on the lot where six firefighters died a year earlier after rushing into a burning warehouse to search for homeless people.

It had been the nation's worst loss of life among firefighters from a building fire in more than 20 years.

At 6:13 p.m. Sunday, the precise time the first alarm was struck on Dec. 3, 1999, the names of the six firefighters were read out as hundreds of people listened in silence. Family members of the victims attended the ceremony, but few words were spoken.

``The year is up and everybody's tired,'' Fire Chief Gerard Dio said afterward. ``We want to get on with our lives. We'll never forget these guys. They'll always be in the back of our minds, but we have a job to do.''

The firefighters killed were Paul A. Brotherton, 41; Joseph T. McGuirk, 38; James F. Lyons III, 34; Lt. Thomas E. Spencer, 42; Timothy P. Jackson, 51, and Jeremiah M. Lucey, 38.

Six days after their deaths, 30,000 firefighters and 10,000 civilians -- including President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore -- gathered for a memorial service. More than $7 million was raised for the dead firefighters' families, including 17 children.

Many churches held memorial Masses on Sunday, and Firehouse.com, a firemen's website, urged fire departments around the world to sound their horns Sunday at 6:13 p.m.

A homeless couple were accused of knocking over a candle that started the fire, but manslaughter charges against them were eventually dismissed. The six firefighters were the only victims found in the warehouse after the blaze.

Throughout the day Sunday, visitors placed mementos, plastic flowers and flags in the chain-link fence that now surrounds the empty site where the Worcester Cold Storage Facility stood.

``We've been through a horrible fire and a horrible year. It's heartwarming they still remember us,'' said Lt. John M. Ford, who spent part of Sunday at the Grove Street fire station, where the six firefighters were assigned.