Updated: Tuesday, December 7, 1999 - 5 AM
Families Recall Firefighters As Everyday Heroes
The Victims (Click Name for Full Profile):
- Lt. Thomas E. Spencer, 42, of Worcester, Ladder Co. 2
- Firefighter Timothy P. Jackson, 51, of Hopedale, Ladder Co. 2
- Firefighter James F. Lyons, 34, of Worcester, Engine Co. 3
- Firefighter Joseph T. McGuirk, 38, the Rochdale section of Leicester, Engine Co. 3
- Firefighter Paul A. Brotherton, 41, of Auburn, Rescue Co. 1
- Firefighter Jeremiah M. Lucey, 38, the Cherry Valley section of Leicester, Rescue Co. 1
LAURA VOZZELLA
Associated Press
James F. Lyons III started rushing to fires as a boy when he got a scanner to listen for fire calls. He never outgrew his boyhood dream of running to the rescue.
"He would tug my hand when he heard the fire alarm and he would ask me to take him to the fire," his father, James Jr., said Sunday. "Sometimes I would say, 'Jay, it's cold out there and it's snowing.' But I would take him to the fire."
So it was only natural that Lyons, 34, would run to the aid of two fellow firefighters lost in a burning warehouse Friday. He was one of six firefighters who didn't make it out.
The others were: Lt. Thomas E. Spencer, 42, of Worcester; firefighter Timothy P. Jackson, 51, of Hopedale; firefighter Joseph T. McGuirk, 38, of Leicester; firefighter Paul A. Brotherton, 41, of Auburn; and firefighter Jeremiah M. Lucey, 38, of Leicester.
As firefighters from across New England worked to recover their bodies, relatives gathered Sunday at church services and at private homes to grieve and remember their loved ones. While some were too distraught to talk about their loss, others shared details of lives devoted to family and fighting fires.
Before he became the father of six, Paul Brotherton was a father to his three younger siblings.
Brotherton's mother and father died just seven weeks apart in 1983, the year he made it into the Worcester fire department. Overnight at age 24, he was responsible for two brothers and a sister, the youngest just 10 years old.
In a quiet, everyday way, his family said, raising those children was an act of heroism -- no less than when he ran into a burning building looking for homeless people Friday.
"These are ordinary, regular men that did an extraordinary thing," said his nephew, Keith Higgins. "They exhibited who they were when they did this. Their daily decisions showed them capable of amazing heroics."
A graduate of Burncoat High School in Worcester, Brotherton, 41, served four years in the Air Force. He then became a Worcester City Hospital orderly, where he met his wife, Denise, a nurse.
He went on to serve more than 16 years with the fire department.
The couple had six sons: Michael, 14; Brian, 13; Steven, 10; Timothy, 9; Jonathan, 7; and David, 6.
Described by his nephew as the life of any party, Brotherton was nonetheless mindful of his dangerous occupation. He was among the first two firefighters lost Friday, and it was his voice, the family believes, that was heard crying out, "Mayday, Mayday," over the radio.
On the wall of Brotherton's Auburn home, where a close-knit extended family pledged to look out for his youngsters, hangs a plaque of "The Fireman's Prayer."
"When I am called to duty, God, wherever flames may rage, give me strength to save some life," it reads. "And if according to your will I have to lose my life, please bless with your protecting hand my children and my wife."
The son of Thomas Spencer said Sunday that his father's life was devoted to his job, his family, the Catholic church and the great outdoors.
"He was basically an outdoorsman," said Patrick Spencer, 16. "He loved hiking. He loved fishing."
The 42-year-old attended Catholic schools in Worcester for 12 years, graduating from St. Peter's High School. He joined his hometown fire department and was a lieutenant at the time of his death. His brother Michael also served in the department with him.
Married for 20 years, he was active in Boy Scout Troop 36. Patrick and another son, Daniel, 13, belong to that troop. Spencer also had a daughter, Casey, 15.
"He was a great family guy," Patrick said. "Great father, very family oriented."
Lyons, the boy with the scanner, grew up to finish first in his fire academy class in 1987. He recently took the test to become a lieutenant and had done well, said his father, a retired Worcester teacher.
A tall, lanky guy, Lyons needed plenty of padding when he played Santa Claus for children at the local hospital last year. Single, he was close to his parents and sister. He took a trip to Ireland with his mother, Joan, this summer to visit the family's ancestral home in Louisburg, County Mayo.
"He was here often to bring his laundry and to eat his mother's Sunday dinners," James Lyons Jr. said between sobs. "He was loving and devoted to both of us."
Joseph T. McGuirk wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, grandfather, and countless other relatives who collectively had more than 200 years of firefighting service in Worcester, said his brother William.
He aspired to become a firefighter since he was a young boy, but worked as a carpenter until he was appointed a firefighter three years ago at age 35. McGuirk, a resident of the Rochdale section of Leicester, left behind a wife, daughter and son.
"He was a great dad," said his wife, Linda. "My son thought the world of him."
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