As you are aware, a Worcester (Massachusetts) Firefighter died in the Line of Duty this morning, Sunday, after he was pulled from a burning apartment building on Lowell Street.
WFD Firefighter Christopher Roy, 36, a 2½-year member of the department. He lived in Shrewsbury and leaves a 9-year-old daughter.
The fire was reported at 0358 hours as a basement fire in a 3 story multi-family dwelling at 7 Lowell St. Firefighters entered the building and the conditions deteriorated rapidly.
Firefighters, along with Rapid Intervention Team members helped 5 Firefighters escape the fire using ladders. Two others, including Firefighter Roy, became trapped and were rescued from the second-floor by colleagues. Both injured firefighters were taken to a hospital where FF Roy passed away.
“Fire crews were heroic in their efforts to rescue their colleagues under extreme conditions,” WFD Chief Of Department Lavoie said. “Every person on the fireground gave 110 percent to try and rescue the firefighters who were in danger.”
HERE Is Raw Video Of The Rescue As Described By Chief Lavoie:
HERE Is The Fireground Radio Traffic:
General Video From The Scene:
Firefighter Roy was assigned to Ladder 4 at the Webster Square fire station. The second injured Firefighter was evaluated at the hospital and released.
The 3 story building has six apartments. There were no reported injuries of residents, most of whom said they were sleeping where the fire broke out.
This is an extremely difficult day for the Worcester Fire Department-in an historically difficult month. It was on Dec. 8, 2011, that Worcester lost Firefighter Davies, who was battling a burning 3 decker on Arlington Street when he got caught in a collapse. And then last week, the firefighting community remembered the 6 line-of-duty deaths of the Firefighters, Dec. 3, 1999, in the cold storage building. Lt. Thomas Spencer, Lt. Timothy Jackson Sr., Lt. James Lyons III, and Firefighters Jeremiah Lucey, Paul Brotherton and Joseph McGuirk died in the Line of Duty after becoming trapped in the fire. The fire was determined to have been started by two homeless people. The cause of today fire remains under investigation.