Posted: Thursday, December 16, 1999 - 3 PM
Final Salute Friday To Honor Six
Engine 7 To Be Moved At Exact Time of Alarm
GEORGE B. GRIFFIN
Reprinted with Permission, Telegram & Gazette
WORCESTER-- Firefighters will offer a final salute tomorrow to honor the six men who died at the former Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. building.
Details of the ceremony were being worked out yesterday. Initial plans called for the ceremonial removal of Engine No. 7 at 6:13 p.m. -- two weeks to the moment from the first fire alarm for the warehouse on Dec. 3.
Even as firefighters were battling the stubborn blaze and searching for the remains of their comrades last week, mourners from near and far were showering Engine 7 with flowers, photographs, poems, prayers, teddy bears and memorial wreaths.
The truck became a sort of shrine, nearly buried beneath expressions of grief and anguish.
By late Tuesday, there were hundreds of mementos and thousands of flowers in piles on and around the firetruck. Six white crosses with the names of the fallen firefighters were set in a line in front of Engine 7.
Fire Lt. John A. Daly Jr., secretary of Local 1009, the union that represents Worcester firefighters, said the flowers have been collected and are being stored in a warehouse on Norton Co. property. The poems and other mementos are being kept in boxes at the Fire Department headquarters on Grove Street.
“With the cold weather coming, they're concerned about the status of the apparatus, and saving the memorabilia, taking care of it, and storing it in a safe place,” Lt. Daly said. “We took the flowers off the truck, and Norton Co. let us have a warehouse gratis. I think the wives are planning to do something with the flowers.”
He said some of the flowers will be preserved and turned into “potpourri” bags as remembrances.
Fire officials have yet to determine what will be done with the other memorabilia, Lt. Daly said, which will be preserved and made available to the public in some way.
“We think the community should be able to see the support they gave us,” Lt. Daly said.
As firefighters were preparing the last salute, investigators from the office of the State Fire Marshal were still on the scene.
Firefighter Thomas R. Creamer, spokesman for the fire department, and Barbara Steele, spokeswoman for Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan, declined to comment on the progress of the investigation.
City Manager Thomas R. Hoover said he had no information on how much longer the investigation would continue.
City Solicitor David M. Moore and David H. Gibbs of Boston, the lawyer representing the building's owner, Ding On “Tony” Kwan, were meeting to finalize plans for demolition of the ruins and cleanup of the site.
“I'm trying to ascertain how long the investigation is going to take with the fire marshal and NIOSH,” Mr. Hoover said, referring to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. “We don't want to interrupt at all, but as soon as they vacate the site, I would expect Mr. Kwan to move in and begin the cleanup. That is really what has to happen. As far as his offer of turning property over to the city, it's noteworthy, but secondary.”
Franklin Street is filled with debris and cannot be reopened until after the investigation is finished, the ruins of the building have been torn down, and the wreckage has been hauled away, Mr. Hoover said.
“I am anxious to put some closure to this,” he said.
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