Dec. 12--After five days of digging in the debris, no sign of a missing man's body was found in the nearly demolished triple-decker where longtime Worcester firefighter Jon D. Davies died looking for a resident last week, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. reported yesterday.
"The body of the male individual thought to be in the building at the time of the fire was not found during the sifting of debris at the fire scene," Early said in a prepared statement.
Now, investigators are searching for that still-unidentified man, Early said, because he may be a "potential witness" in the multi-agency probe into the fatal blaze.
Davies, 43, a father of three, died and Worcester firefighter Brian Carroll was injured when they re-entered the 49 Arlington St. home to rescue a man who was reportedly trapped inside. City officials say the home had "numerous" building code violations.
Worcester officials expect massive crowds at Davies' funeral, to be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church on Mulberry Street. The fire department is asking the public to honor Davies by lining the procession route, from the church to St. John's Cemetery.