December 3, 1999, is a night retired Worcester Fire Department Lieutenant Donald Courtney will never forget.

“All you saw was the big, big circle of the glow from the rooftop, and the occasional fire itself extending up into the sky," said Courtney, who is now retired. 

Twenty-two years ago, an abandoned warehouse on Franklin Street caught fire.

Firefighter Paul Brotherton, Lt. Timothy Jackson, firefighter Jeremiah Lucey, Lt. James Lyons, firefighter Joseph McGuirk and Lt. Thomas Spencer died while searching the building for two homeless people who started the fire.

“You always remember those guys, those six guys are constantly in your mind," Courtney said. 

The "Worcester 6" are in the minds of community members, too. Each year, on the anniversary of the Cold Storage fire, people come together at the Franklin Street fire station for a moment of silence.

“They were people out there that were willing to put it all on the line to protect the citizens of Worcester. It feels good that the citizens of the city of Worcester remember the six guys that we lost today," Courtney said. 

And although the heartache of that night persists, Courtney says the tragedy led to more more training for firefighters to help escape similar situations.