Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire

The Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. building was constructed in 1906 and covered an entire city block on Franklin Street. The original structure measured , and stood high. The interior consisted of six storage levels and a basement. The warehouse was served by a rail siding to the rear, operated by the Boston and Albany Railroad. The building was abandoned by 1989 and remained vacant until its destruction, though Kwan had proposed several re-use cases for the property. During this period, it was frequently used by homeless persons, who built fires inside for warmth. == Fire ==

Reports that homeless people were possibly inside the engulfed warehouse caused fire-rescue personnel to search the six-story building. The searchers' task was made extremely difficult by the large size of the building's interior, the layout, which was a maze of corridors and meat lockers, many with identical flush-handle doors, and the highly flammable composition of its insulation. Lyons and Jackson both received a posthumous promotion from Firefighter to Lieutenant. ==Criminal charges==

Involuntary manslaughter charges against Levesque and Barnes were initially dismissed, reinstated on appeal, and finally dismissed in January 2010. They received probation. Ding On "Tony" Kwan, the building's owner, was not charged, but families of the deceased firefighters sued him for wrongful death for negligently failing to keep out squatters. The families received between $166,667 and $250,000 each from Kwan in out-of-court settlements. ==Memorials==

A memorial service and procession for the firefighters were held in Worcester's Centrum Centre on December 9, 1999. The service was broadcast on several national news networks and was attended by President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Senator Ted Kennedy and Senator John Kerry (who flew non-stop from Burma, where he had been attending a diplomatic function). Also in the procession were firefighters from around the United States, Canada, and from Dublin, Ireland. The Boston Stock Exchange suspended business at 11:00am during the memorial and observed a minute's silence while a bell was rung in tribute on the trading floor. City leaders planned to erect a memorial to the men in Institute Park, adjacent to the Worcester Fire Headquarters station on Grove Street. The Franklin Street Fire Station, officially opened November 19, 2008, sits on the land formerly occupied by the cold storage facility, which was demolished immediately after the fire investigation. A memorial to the fallen firefighters, created by artist Brian P. Hanlon, is also located at this site. ==Leary Firefighters Foundation==

Actor and comedian Denis Leary's first cousin, Jerry Lucey, and Leary's childhood friend and high school classmate, Lieutenant Tommy Spencer, were both victims of the fire. Leary established The Leary Firefighters Foundation in the spring of 2000. In October 2000, Leary held the first "Celebrity Hat Trick" fundraiser including a hockey game, a golf tournament and a dinner. The hockey game was played at Worcester Centrum between a "Hollywood" team, including Michael J. Fox, Kiefer Sutherland, Tim Robbins and Rick Moranis, and a Boston Bruins Alumni Team, coached by Bobby Orr and including Phil Esposito, Johnny Bucyk, Derek Sanderson and Cam Neely. The hockey game raised $350,000 and became an annual event. The proceeds went to Worcester and central Massachusetts fire departments to fund equipment, technology, and training, and to the families of firefighters who died or were injured in the line of duty. ==Film adaptation==

In July 2000, journalist Sean Flynn's article about the fire, "The Perfect Fire", was published in Esquire magazine. Flynn's subsequent book, 3000 Degrees: The True Story of a Deadly Fire and The Men Who Fought It, was published in 2002. Warner Bros. planned to use the book as the basis for a movie, with a screenplay written by Scott Silver, a Worcester native. Director Michael Mann was attached to the project, but left in February 2003, possibly as a result of the "slow-moving pre-production process." In September 2003, Warner Bros. hired director Danny Boyle to shoot the project, provisionally titled Worcester Cold Storage. Filming was expected to begin in early 2004 with an autumn 2004 release date. Filming was scheduled to begin May 10, 2004, in Toronto, with Ed Harris and Woody Harrelson signed to star in the movie. Firefighters across North America protested that it was insensitive to make a film about fallen firefighters while their children were still young, In late April 2004, Warner Bros. and Image Entertainment, the production company, issued a joint statement saying that the making of a film the size and scope of Worcester Cold Storage was "a complex process that needed the support of various groups and individuals, including firefighters. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we no longer have such support. We have therefore decided not to move ahead with this project at this time." Frank Raffa, president of Local 1009, responded that firefighters "may one day drop their opposition" to the movie, "But we want to wait until the kids of our fallen comrades grow up." Ladder 49 The 2004 movie Ladder 49, directed by Jay Russell, told the story of a fictional Baltimore firefighter who is trapped inside a warehouse fire, and his recollection of the events that got him to that point. The film, starring Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta, was based on the events of the Worcester fire. The Boston Herald wrote: ==See also==