On December 3, 1999, a fire ravaged an abandoned warehouse in Worcester, Massachusetts and claimed the lives of six firefighters. 37-year-old Tom Levesque and 19-year-old Julie Barnes, an unhoused couple living in the building, were subsequently charged with manslaughter for starting the blaze. “48 Hours" Correspondents Dan Rather and Bill Lagattuta report. This classic "48 Hours" episode last aired on 5/31/2001. Watch all-new episodes of “48 Hours” on Saturdays, and stream on demand on Paramount+. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What happened on December 3, 1999, in Worcester?
But that night, Jay was just another fireman doing his job. The searchers could find no trace of the homeless couple. And by now... We had several transmission from Paul and Jerry.
Paul Brotherton and Jerry Lucy's oxygen tanks were almost empty. Okay, we're on the floor now. We're buddy breathing, which means one of them ran out of here and they're taking the one face piece and they're going back and forth with it.
We're buddy breathing. Hurry. But the building was turning into a giant oven with temperatures reaching over 3,000 degrees. And now some of the firefighters searching inside were lost. Chief McNamee faced the toughest decision of his life. How many more men would he risk to save those missing firefighters?
I said, my God, my son is trapped in that building.
That's next.
This fire was a monster. It was growing by the minute.
The fire is going on so loud, I can't hear you too well.
In less than an hour, a sighting of smoke on the roof of the Worcester coal storage building had exploded into a raging four alarm blaze. Yet, incredibly, there were 40 firefighters inside the inferno. Searching for two comrades, Paul Brotherton and Jerry Lucy, lost inside the building. We were fighting time, and it was getting down to a critical point at that point.
District Chief McNamee was about to see it get even worse. Two more men, partners Tim Jackson and Tom Spencer, were not responding to radio calls. Ladder 200 to Ladder 2.
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Chapter 2: Who were the victims of the Worcester warehouse fire?
More than 12 hours passed before the inferno was under control. As dawn broke, the city of Worcester and the work learned the devastating impact of the blaze. 17 children left fatherless, five women lost their husbands, and the deaths of the six brave men touched countless other lives.
We walked in with six fellow firefighters and were waiting to walk out with them.
so now we have to find them the task of finding their fallen brothers seemed almost impossible the building's roof and interior had collapsed we eventually had the left end of the building removed now we can go in we can start searching by hand trying to find any sign of anybody
It was eight days. It was eight days.
And for eight days, these guys didn't sleep. For eight days, they searched for six of their own.
As the search continued, over 30,000 firefighters from all around the world and a television audience of millions joined the city in honoring the fallen six.
I was proud. I was very, very proud.
Whether it was a homeless person or the richest person in the world, it made no difference to them. They knew their job was to save lives.
And I was determined to hold my head high and say, this is for you. Jerry, Joe, Jay, Timmy, and Tom, this is for you.
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Chapter 3: What led to the tragic fire that claimed six firefighters?
How do you feel about that? That's a hard one. They didn't start the fire on purpose.
I wish they'd called. A judge decides their fate.
In Maine, still facing six counts of manslaughter, Julie Barnes is trying hard to become a brand new person.
What'd she say to you yesterday?
How she can change her name to Sandy King and be part of the family.
What has she told you about the night of the fire?
She just tells me she didn't do it. She had nothing to do with it.
That she wasn't even there?
That she wasn't even there.
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