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FINALLY BACK HOME
WORCESTER FIRE DEPT.
ENGINE 5 LADDER 4

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Probation deal may end case against homeless pair
Thursday, May 30, 2002
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WORCESTER-- Charges will be dropped against two people who sparked a fire in an abandoned warehouse where six firefighters later died if the couple stays out of trouble for five years.
As part of an agreement reached today, Thomas S. Levesque and Julie King will be on probation for five years, after which time the involuntary manslaughter charges would be dismissed.

Levesque and King were homeless and living together in the Worcester Cold Storage warehouse in December 1999 when they knocked over a candle and igniting the blaze during a fight. They fled and did not report the fire.

Two firefighters entered the building to rescue homeless people they thought might be trapped inside; when the firefighters became disoriented, four more firefighters entered. All six died.

Worcester Superior Court Judge Daniel Toomey approved the deal at a brief hearing this morning.

"The public and the defendants all agree the case should stop here,'' Toomey said. "That is the path of justice I'm sworn to. And that is what I will do.''

The charges against couple were initially dismissed for lack of evidence by a superior court judge in September 2000. But in March, the Supreme Judicial Court overturned the ruling and reinstated the charges, saying there was sufficient evidence to conclude the couple's choice not to report the fire "was intentional and reckless.''

The court said that Levesque and King tried to put out the fire and watched as it consumed their possessions, so they knew it was spreading. They also had a cellular phone and passed several open stores after fleeing the building, which the court said showed they had opportunities to report the fire.

The couple knew they could have faced trespassing charges, giving them a motive to stay silent, the court said.

The court rejected defense arguments that the couple had panicked, noting they went shopping and ate a meal after leaving the warehouse.

Assistant District Attorney Larry Murphy said prosecutors consulted with firefighters before agreeing to the deal.

"We have spoken with the Fire Department and they are in agreement with this recommendation,'' Murphy said.

Killed in the fire were: Paul A. Brotherton, 41; Joseph T. McGuirk, 38; James F. Lyons III, 34; Lt. Thomas E. Spencer, 42; Timothy P. Jackson, 51, and Jeremiah M. Lucey, 38.

After the fire King, then known as Julie Ann Barnes, was adopted by an Ellsworth, Maine, family who had also adopted her sister. King, 22, works as a housekeeper and gave birth to a son just months after the fire, while she was in jail.

Levesque, 39, lives in Worcester.

"I'm extremely appreciative. It's really incredible,'' King's adoptive mother, Debb King, said after the hearing. "We just want to go home and continue getting on with Julie's life.''
http://www.telegram.com/news/page_one/fireap.html

[Neil]

No jail for King, Levesque

Friday, May 31, 2002

By Gary V. Murray and Emilie Astell
Telegram & Gazette Staff


WORCESTER-- Two formerly homeless people were placed on probation yesterday instead of facing a trial on involuntary manslaughter charges stemming from a deadly warehouse blaze that claimed the lives of six city firefighters.
As a result of actions by Superior Court Judge Daniel F. Toomey, the charges against Thomas S. Levesque and Julie Ann King will be dismissed in five years if they comply with their pretrial probation and have no further difficulties with the law.
The judge agreed to continue the charges without pleas or findings as requested by defense lawyers and prosecutor Lawrence J. Murphy, an assistant district attorney.
Acknowledging that continuances without pleas or findings are “exceedingly rare” in Superior Court, Judge Toomey said the case before him was one in which “such a result is in the interests of justice.”
Mr. Levesque, 39, and Ms. King, 22, formerly known as Julie Ann Barnes, were each charged with six counts of involuntary manslaughter in the Dec. 3, 1999, fire at the vacant Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. building on Franklin Street.
Mr. Levesque and Ms. King, who were homeless at the time and occasionally stayed in the vacant warehouse, failed to report the fire after accidentally starting it by knocking over a candle during an argument.
Killed in the blaze were Fire Lts. Thomas E. Spencer, James F. “Jay” Lyons III and Timothy P. Jackson, and Firefighters Paul A. Brotherton, Jeremiah M. Lucey and Joseph T. McGuirk.
The judge's decision brought smiles to Ms. King's adoptive mother, Deborah King of Ellsworth, Maine, and Ms. King's younger sister, Jennifer, who was earlier adopted by Mrs. King and her husband, Tim.
“This is the type of ending this story should have,” Mrs. King said. “Now we just want to go home and continue Julie's life and let sisters be sisters.”
During the proceedings, Ms. King sat quietly next to defense lawyer Louis P. Aloise. When the case concluded, Ms. King rushed to her mother's side, burying her face in the woman's shoulder. Jennifer did the same thing.
Mrs. King said the family was grateful to District Attorney John J. Conte for agreeing to end the case in this manner.
Both sisters continued to hug Mrs. King as reporters crowded around them. Ms. King declined to say anything, though she mentioned that she would return to work tomorrow.
“She's just a little overwhelmed,” Mrs. King said, “She's happy. She doesn't have to come back. She'll be a productive citizen and pay taxes.”
The family planned to go for a swim at a local hotel pool yesterday afternoon and eat pizza. They were to return to Maine today, but will continue to seek custody of Ms. King's 2-year-old son, Joshua, who was born while the young woman was imprisoned awaiting trial. Joshua is in foster care under the state Department of Social Services.
Diane Flynn Pellegrino of Mendon, Lt. Jackson's stepdaughter, attended the court hearing, but declined comment.
One of Lt. Jackson's sons, Timothy P. Jackson Jr., who was not in court yesterday, declined to speak with a reporter when called at home. His wife, Buffy Jackson, who answered the phone, said the family agreed that probation was the best thing that could have happened.
“He told me that it was like kicking a puppy to bring these people to trial,” she said of her husband. “They are trying to get their lives together.”
Worcester Fire Chief Gerard A. Dio, who was not in court, said some members of the Fire Department may feel that justice was not served by the decision, and some may feel it was.
“If this is the best the district attorney can do, why be unhappy or happy about it? I can't change anything,” he said. “The decision has been made and I have to live with it. I wish there could be more, but I don't want to sound vindictive. If people are not capable of going to court, what are they doing on the street?”
Although the case is now out of the public eye, Chief Dio said, firefighters will never forget their fallen comrades.
Mr. Levesque and Ms. King, who both are mildly retarded, appeared in court yesterday for the first time since the state Supreme Judicial Court reinstated the charges against them in March. The state's highest court reversed Superior Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman's earlier ruling dismissing the charges.
The prosecution against them was rooted in law that grew from the ashes of the 1942 Cocoanut Grove nightclub inferno in Boston and was based on an allegation that the suspects' failure to report the fire rose to the level of wanton or reckless conduct required for an involuntary manslaughter conviction.
Judge Hillman had found that the evidence presented to the grand jury that indicted the couple was insufficient to support the charges. The SJC disagreed.
Mr. Aloise and lawyer Edward P. Ryan Jr., representing Mr. Levesque, filed motions yesterday asking that the charges against their clients be continued without pleas or findings for five years in the “interests of public justice.”
In his motion, Mr. Ryan referred to his client's “very limited mental abilities,” the absence of any malice or intent to harm in his actions, his lack of criminal convictions and “clear demonstration of remorse.”
Mr. Ryan told the judge that a psychological evaluation of Mr. Levesque revealed, among other things, a measured IQ of 61 to 70, placing him in the mildly mentally retarded range of intelligence.
Since his release from jail in September 2000, Mr. Levesque has attended individual and group counseling and received help for a drinking problem, according to his affidavit.
Mr. Aloise said that Ms. King is mildly mentally retarded, functionally illiterate and with a measured IQ of about 59. Psychological testing and evaluations indicate that the young woman reacted to the accidental setting of the fire in the warehouse as one would expect a person with such limitations to react.
Ms. King has acknowledged her part in and responsibility for the chain of events that lead to the deaths of the six firefighters and has expressed remorse, Mr. Aloise said.
Mrs. King submitted an affidavit saying that the transformation that has taken place in Ms. King since she first came to live with the family in July 2000 is remarkable.
“She has bonded so completely with her younger sister, Jennifer, that they are now almost inseparable,” she said. “They interact with each other and behave like preadolescent girls without the early teen attitude.”
Mr. Murphy, who did not oppose the charges being continued, said Firefighters Brotherton and Lucey were part of a rescue squad that entered the building shortly after 6:15 p.m. on Dec. 3 to locate the fire and look for people inside.
At about 6:24 p.m., Mr. Murphy said, Firefighters Brotherton and Lucey began sweeping the building after receiving a radio communication indicating that homeless people were possibly inside. Within 22 minutes, they radioed for help after getting lost on the upper floors of the maze-like structure, Mr. Murphy said.
The prosecutor said the other four firefighters died “primarily looking for their lost brothers.”
Mr. Murphy told the court that police and fire officials agreed with the proposed disposition of the case, and that the victims' families were “in substantial agreement with this recommendation.”
Two of the fire investigators, Detective Lt. John J. McKiernan and Detective Michael Mulvey of the arson squad, were in court yesterday. Detective Lt. McKiernan said Mr. Conte made “a very gutsy move” in agreeing to the recommended probation.
“I compliment the district attorney's office and Judge Toomey in the way the matter was handled today,” he said, agreeing that probation for the defendants was the best possible outcome.
Mr. Conte said after the hearing that his decision was based in part on medical reports he received two weeks ago documenting the defendants' mental deficiencies. Up to that point, he said, court records were devoid of information on their mental statuses.
“This was an option that presented justice for everyone,” Mr. Conte said. “Once we got the medical and psychological reports, we felt we would not be able to go to trial with these two individuals.”
Mr. Conte said his assent to the continuances was not inconsistent with his earlier decision to appeal Judge Hillman's dismissal of the charges.
“We felt compelled to appeal what we saw as an illegal interpretation of the law that said you could start a fire and not have a duty to report it,” he said. “You just can't start something and then go away.”
Judge Toomey described the fire and deaths that resulted as “horrific,” and said he was not insensitive to the pain and sense of loss suffered by the victims' families.
Although the courts are not controlled by the sentiments of the public, he said, judges sometimes seek to bring community values to bear in a case. Those values are often reflected in the prosecution's recommendation, according to the judge.
“In this case, the prosecution tells me that the indictments should not proceed to trial,” Judge Toomey said.

http://www.telegram.com/news/page_one/fire.htmlJULIE BARNES (KING)19---THOMAS LEVESQUE 37 WORCESTER FIRE 12-3-99

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Worcester Fire

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EMT WORCESTER FIRE

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TRAINING CENTER NAMED FOR BROTHER JOHN

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Firefighters Memorial 6K set
SUNDAY, June 9, 2002

By Steven H. Foskett Jr.
Telegram & Gazette Staff


WORCESTER-- Now in its third year, the Worcester Firefighters Memorial 6K has quickly grabbed a spot among the five biggest road races in Central Massachusetts.
Established to raise money for a memorial to the six firefighters who died in the Dec. 3, 1999, Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire, the event has taken on a festival atmosphere, and its success has enabled the race to help local charities.
“This isn't just a Fire Department thing for the Fire Department,” said Worcester Fire Lt. Michael Lavoie. “We're volunteering our time, and most of the money is going to charities.”
The race begins at 1 p.m. Sunday at Institute Park, and ends at West and Salisbury streets. Lt. Lavoie said there will be plenty of food at the park, and there will be rides and face-painting for the kids.
While many participants treat the 6K as a competitive road race, he said, others may choose to walk or take the one-mile loop if they do not want to go the full distance.
This year's race will benefit local nonprofit organizations that include the Worcester County Food Bank, Why Me Inc., the Cam Neely Foundation and the Kids Cafe, said Lt. Lavoie, a race committee member.
He said that, as of yesterday, about 500 runners had preregistered.
“We're hoping for at least 1,000 this year,” Lt. Lavoie said. He said the committee overseeing the race is hoping to raise about $40,000 this year, with $25,000 to $30,000 going back to charities, and the difference covering expenses and adding to the fund for a firefighters' memorial.
Lt. Lavoie said that, while it is too late to mail race registrations, participants can sign up from 5 to 9 p.m. tomorrow at Forest Grove Middle School, 495 Grove St., or from 10 a.m. to noon the day of the race at the park. Cash awards will be given to overall male and female winners, and merchandise awards will be given out in all age categories.
Sponsors include: Allegro Microsystems Inc., Allmerica, St. Gobain, CVS Pharmacy, UnumProvident, Worcester Magazine and Price Chopper.
For more information, log on to www.cmsrun.org, www.pffm.org, or call John Franco at (508) 853-1008.

[Neil]

Overcoming the obstacles
Saturday, June 22, 2002

By Josh Zywien
SPECIAL TO THE TELEGRAM & GAZETTE


WORCESTER-- The word “cannot” does not exist in 17-year old Alvin Franceschi's vocabulary. Also, try not to mention the words “fail,” “quit” or “retire” when you're around him.
The Oxford High School junior hasn't had the easiest of life paths. He's been in the care of 10 different foster homes and just recently met his birth parents.
Some would have given up by now.
“Not Alvin,” said Denise Carnier, Mr. Franceschi's current foster mother. “He's one resilient kid.”
He is also an auxiliary firefighter for the Oxford Fire Department and a future Marine Corps infantryman and has received special recognition from President Bush for his commitment to the community.
Last year alone, he logged more than 150 hours of community service, most of which was with the Elks Club of Worcester, serving the elderly.
“He's accomplished so much,” Ms. Carnier said. “Each one of his accomplishments has started as a stumble and he kept pressing on.”
The humble Mr. Franceschi shrugs his shoulders, though, saying “it wasn't just me doing this by myself.
“Some people say that their life is so hard,” he added. “I say to them, 'It could be a whole lot worse.' I know, because I've been there.”
He's been persistent, knowing exactly what he wants and hunting it down.
“It's been a lifelong dream of mine,” he said, of his recent enlistment in the Marine Corps. “Kids like me just have to keep trying.”
The Department of Social Services honored Mr. Franceschi's persistence Thursday night at Leo's Ristorante along with 20 other area foster children. The youths were nominated for the award by their respective social workers. Winners received scholarships, if they planned to continue with their education, or gift certificates donated by local businesses.
Mr. Franceschi was also the recipient of the Worcester Firefighters' Memorial Award. The award commemorates the six firefighters who died in the Dec. 3, 1999, Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire.
The ceremonies also featured guest speaker Jose Antonio Rivera, an ex-foster child who has since gone on to a prominent boxing career.
Mr. Rivera was on his own at the age of 10 when his mother died. According to Mr. Rivera, he began hanging out with the wrong crowd and lost track of his life.
“After that point, there were a lot of bumpy roads,” he said. “But, like I'm urging you guys to do, I kept on working for what I wanted.”
Mr. Rivera won the U.S. Regional Championship in 1996 and had signed to do a fight for HBO. A hand injury while training for the HBO matchup ended Mr. Rivera's dreams temporarily.
“They canceled the deal after my injury,” Mr. Rivera told the audience. “They dropped me in the rankings, and I had to start from scratch.”
Mr. Rivera said that his inner desire to succeed is what motivated him.
In 2001, he was declared North American Boxing Association champion and, is ranked fourth in the world in his division. He recently signed a deal with Don King, who promotes some of the biggest names in boxing.
“No matter where you come from, no matter what you do, always believe in yourself,” he said.
The night's activities closed with former foster child Patricia Stark-Cornetta of Grafton singing “A Whole New World.” She will also be singing the national anthem at next Thursday's Red Sox game at Fenway Park.
“These kids are amazing,” said Kelly Barnhart, a member of the Youth Excellence Awards Committee. “I never leave this ceremony with dry eyes.”

[Neil]

http://www.state.ma.us/dss/Pressroom/pr-youthawards.htm


Three Worcester Firefighters were in attendance to receive a plaque acknowledging their ongoing support of the Department's children, as well as to witness the awarding of a scholarship in memory of their six colleagues lost in the 1999 warehouse fire. They were moved to meet the recipient of the memorial scholarship, James M., a 17-year-old volunteer firefighter who, upon receiving his award, talked about overcoming numerous challenges, and who plans to join their ranks one day. Firefighters Union VP Donald Courtney joked towards the end of the evening, "Well, we're ready to head off, if we can get Jim off the truck." Jim appeared moments later, geared from head to toe in firefighting apparel and hardhat, and carrying a bouquet of carnations for his foster mom.

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Sterling on fire at muster
Sunday, August 18, 2002

By Kathleen A. Shaw
Telegram & Gazette Staff


WORCESTER-- The Sterling Fire Department emerged as the big winner at yesterday's second annual Worcester Firefighters Memorial Muster held at Forest Grove Middle School.
More than 200 people gathered to watch firefighters from Worcester, Sterling, Leicester and Princeton show off their skills. Sterling took “Best Overall” in the foot races and motorized fire engine categories, while Leicester repeatedly came in second.
The day began with a parade of vintage firetrucks down Grove Street to the school.
The trophy among the old non-motorized engines went to Leicester for its 1811 Thayer hand-held engine. The newest engine in service award also went to Leicester for its Freightliner-Central States engine.
The “Best of Show” award went to Bill Lennerton of Leicester for his 1927 Federal engine. Peter Morgan, also of Leicester, won in the category for the best motorized engine, a 1922 Ford-Howe.
Not all old engines are “retired.” The town of Acton won the award for the oldest engine still in service. The firefighters entered their 1936 REO-Seagrave. Tom Hooker of Hanover traveled the farthest with his 1965 Seagrave.
The following is a list of the muster trophy winners: FOOT RACES Reverse wet race: first place, Sterling; second, Leicester; third, Worcester.
Straight wet race: first, Princeton; second, Leicester; third, Sterling.
Pig pile event: first, Sterling; second, Worcester; third, Leicester.
Best overall in foot races: Sterling. MOTORIZED RACES Bed race: first, Sterling; second, Leicester; third, Princeton.
Broken hose event: first, Sterling; second, Leicester; third, Princeton.
Pump run: first, Sterling; second, Leicester; third, Worcester.
Best overall in motorized races: Sterling. --30--

[Neil]

Leary opposes plan to raze fire station on Central Street
Thursday, August 22, 2002

By Bronislaus B. Kush
Telegram & Gazette Staff


WORCESTER-- Firefighters working to save the Central Division firehouse downtown from demolition received support yesterday from an unlikely source -- actor and comedian Denis Leary.
Mr. Leary yesterday caught a number of people attending a press conference about a firefighters' benefit by surprise when he urged city officials to reconsider a plan to raze the station to make way for a four-star hotel.
“It's pretty ridiculous that we have to talk about this (issue),” said Mr. Leary, who established the Leary Firefighters Foundation.
Monarch Enterprises of Springfield wants to build a $20 million to $30 million full-service, convention-style hotel on the site of the station.
Firefighters, however, have vigorously fought the plan, saying the station is needed to provide rapid response to fires downtown.
The station is home to a ladder and engine company, as well as the rescue and scuba squads.
Mr. Leary, who has raised about $750,000 for equipment and a new training facility for the Worcester Fire Department, held a press conference yesterday detailing plans for his annual Celebrity Hat Trick benefit.
At that meeting with reporters, he urged the city's political leadership to save the firehouse.
Mr. Leary, whose cousin Jeremiah Lucey was one of six firefighters who died in the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse building fire in 1999, said the station is needed to ensure adequate fire protection downtown.
He noted that his cousin was assigned to the firehouse at the time of his death.
Mr. Leary, a Worcester native, said the public has grown to appreciate firefighters in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City. More than 300 firefighters died trying to save those trapped in the collapsing World Trade Center towers.
But although people still hold firefighters in high regard, Mr. Leary said, politicians -- trying to manage tight budgets -- are undercutting firefighting capabilities by cutting funding to fire departments.
He said, for example, that the New York City Fire Department budget has been cut by $60 million and that stations across the city are being closed.
“The politicians seem to be forgetting,” he said.
Mayor Timothy P. Murray said Fire Chief Gerard A. Dio has told the City Council that the downtown can receive adequate fire coverage from the fire headquarters on Grove Street and the South Division on Southbridge Street.
He said any proceeds from the sale of the Central Division to Monarch would be pumped back to the Fire Department.
Mr. Murray said long-term plans might include replacement of older stations on Providence and Franklin streets, which would boost downtown fire protection.

[Neil]

3rd Celebrity Hat Trick on tap
Thursday, August 22, 2002

By Bronislaus B. Kush
Telegram & Gazette Staff


WORCESTER-- Actor and comedian Denis Leary will bring back the old gang this fall for another star-studded hockey extravaganza to benefit local fire departments.
The third annual Celebrity Hat Trick will take place Sept. 29 at Worcester Centrum Centre, with a number of Hollywood notables taking on a group of Boston Bruins alumni.


Mr. Leary, a Worcester native, organized the event after the deaths of six Worcester firefighters in the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse building blaze in December 1999.
One of the firefighters, Jeremiah M. Lucey, was Mr. Leary's cousin and boyhood chum.
To date, the Leary Firefighters Foundation, which oversees the hockey tournament, has raised $750,000 for a new training facility at Worcester's fire headquarters on Grove Street, as well as providing money for a self-contained breathing apparatus truck.
This year, organizers are hoping the hockey game will bring in an additional $400,000.
Mr. Leary outlined plans for the tourney at a press conference yesterday morning at the Central Division fire station downtown.
Mr. Leary, who entertained the crowd on hand with a number of one-liners, said the foundation has accomplished much but still has a long way to go.
He said the public got a better appreciation of firefighters as a result of the fatal Worcester fire and the tragic deaths of 343 New York City firefighters trying to rescue those trapped in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center Sept. 11.
“We pledge to keep firefighters in fashion,” he said.
Frank Raffa, president of the local firefighters union, said the training and firefighting ability of the Worcester Fire Department have sharpened as a result of the resources provided by the foundation.
The Hollywood hockey team will include such stars as Michael J. Fox, Scott Wolf, Rick Moranis, Tim Robbins and Bobby Farrelly, and will be coached by Elizabeth Hurley and Aerosmith lead singer Steve Tyler.
U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry will also tie up his skates for the team.
Participating Bruins alumni will include John Bucyk, Reggie Lemelin, Don Marcotte and Rick Middleton. Actor George Wendt and Bruins idols Bobby Orr and Derek Sanderson will coach.
Radio disc jockey Greg Hill will announce the game, and comedian Lenny Clarke, a good friend of Mr. Leary's, will provide color commentary.
Mr. Clarke drew some laughs when he made an impromptu appearance yesterday by sliding down the firehouse's pole dressed in full firefighter gear.
Game tickets, which cost $15 and $40, went on sale yesterday.
The Leary Firefighters Foundation provides money to fire departments for equipment, technology and training.
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, Mr. Leary also established the Leary Firefighters Fund for New York's Bravest. That organization has raised about $1.2 million to help the families of the firefighters who died at the collapse of the twin towers.

Comedians Dennis Leary and Lenny Clarke, standing in front of the Central Division fire station downtown, announce the third annual Celebrity Hat Trick, planned for Sept. 29 at Worcester Centrum Centre.