The six Worcester, Mass. firefighters who lost their lives battling flames at the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. nearly 20 years ago will be honored by Worcester Red Sox.
The Worcester Red Sox will become the Boston Red Sox’s Triple-A team, moving from Pawtucket to Massachusetts, in 2021.
Worcester Fire Chief Michael Lavoie on Tuesday announced the soon-to-be team will retire the No. 6 to honor Lt. Thomas Spencer, Lt. Timothy Jackson Sr., Lt. James Lyons III and firefighters Jeremiah Lucey, Paul Brotherton and Joseph McGuirk, who were killed in the Dec. 3, 1999 blaze.
Tonight the Worcester Red Sox retired the number 6 to eternally commemorate the 6 Firefighters who lost their lives in the Cold Storage Fire
of 1999. Club will donate portion of proceeds of “Worcester 6” Jerseys to @WorcesterFD Memorials Care Fund. https://t.co/KuiHMnNJy0 pic.twitter.com/t3G8lu2yYK— Polar Park (@PolarPark2021) November 13, 2019
According to MassLive.com, the team will put aside eight tickets for each game to commemorate the eight total firefighters lost in the line of duty since 1999.
“You try to do what you can,” president of the club Charles Steinberg said. “If we can be a storyteller so that broadcasters from all over North America when they come to broadcast a game, they have to say why that number is retired. Well then, those six firefighters are alive in our hearts. If they have to explain why there are eight seats devoted, then Firefighter Davies and Firefighter Roy are alive in our hearts.”
The No. 6 jerseys will be available for purchase and part of the proceeds will go toward the Worcester Fire Department Memorials Care Fund.
