Remembering the Victims Paul A. Brotherton

Spencer | Jackson | Lyons | McGuirk | Brotherton | Lucey

JOHN DIGNAM
Telegram & Gazette Staff
Republished with permission

His comrades described Paul A. Brotherton as a quick wit, a warm person and a knowledgeable firefighter who loved his family and his friends.

“He was special, and he was a great firefighter,” said Firefighter Gary Williams.

“He could brighten the place up. It was a pleasure to see him come in the room,” added Firefighter Thomas Dwyer.

“It was an honor to know him,” Firefighter Dwyer said softly.

The two tired firefighters spoke of their friend yesterday afternoon beside the ruins of the former Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. building, as recovery operations continued.

Their unit, Rescue 1, Group 2, was one of the first on the scene of Friday's heartbreaking blaze. They said the men had just sat down to supper when the alarm sounded.

“We came with five men, and we will leave with five men,” Firefighter Dwyer said, noting that the unit members had been at the scene almost continuously. One of their few breaks was a visit to Firefighter Brotherton's family.

Firefighter Brotherton, 41, and his wife, Denise, lived at 22 Paul St. in Auburn with their six sons, the oldest of whom is 14.

A 16-year veteran of the Worcester Fire Department, Firefighter Brotherton served on the rescue squad for five years. A Worcester native, he graduated from Burncoat High School and was an Air Force veteran.

Christian P. Dano, an Auburn firefighter and Firefighter Brotherton's next-door neighbor, said they often would talk while cutting grass or clearing snow.

“He loved the fire department. That's what we talked about. And if he wasn't with the fire department, he was with his kids,” he said. “And I used to see him a lot at Shaw's, buying milk. He told me he used to have to buy two gallons a day.”

He described Firefighter Brotherton and rescue squad members as “the cream of the crop.”

Firefighter Dwyer and Firefighter Williams served with Firefighter Brotherton out of the Central Division, along with Lt. David Halvorsen and Firefighters Michael Grilla, Joseph LeBlanc and Carlo Sciannameo.

Firefighters Dwyer and Williams said firefighters spend more waking hours with their departmental family than with their actual ones, and that the bonds among them are very strong.

The two men said that Firefighter Brotherton was “extremely serious when it came to firefighting” but also had a light side that everyone enjoyed.

Firefighter Dwyer said Firefighter Brotherton often would cook a Sunday morning breakfast of omelets “and some kind of special 'tater tots' ” for 19 firefighters after night duty.

“He must have been used to that because of the size of his family,” Firefighter Dwyer said.

He said Firefighter Brotherton had raised his sister, Kim, after the death of his parents, and that firefighters attended her “terrific wedding” last year.

“He was a wonderful family man,” Firefighter Williams said.

A nephew, Keith Higgins, spoke for the Brotherton family at a press conference of relatives of the six firefighters who died.

“The sorrow we feel at the loss of Paul is beyond words,” Mr. Higgins said. “We take comfort from the fact that he gave his life out of a selfless concern for the safety of others.

“He loved and respected his job very much. He enjoyed every day of his 16-plus years as a firefighter,” Mr. Higgins said of his uncle. “He was a very loving and caring husband, father, brother, uncle and friend. We will remember not only his sense of dedication to his job but also his job of life and his sense of humor. We will miss him greatly.

“Paul kept a plaque in the house with the Fireman's Prayer on it,” Mr. Higgins said. “At this sad time, we take solace in remembering the following lines, which we know were with him in that building:

'When I am called to duty, God

Wherever flames may rage

Give me strength to save some life.

And if according to your will

I have to lose my life

Please bless with your protecting hand

My children and my wife.' ”

“If you had the opportunity to know him,” Firefighter Williams said of Firefighter Brotherton, “you could consider yourself a lucky person.”