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. No answer. I'm listening to this. Trying to make contact with Jim and Tom. With Tim and Tom. Nothing. And then the fourth or fifth call was almost a cry into the radio. Ladder 200 to Ladder 2, answer me! I just went, oh, my God.
There's two more. The heavy black smoke was now pouring out of the storage lockers and into the stairway. It was forcing you back down the stairs. You know, you had to fight your way up. We almost got trapped in there. As a federal inquiry later confirmed, malfunctioning radios added to the confusion of the moment.
Now I was asking people every time they came down, what are conditions like up there? How bad is it getting up there? And when this very experienced lieutenant was coming down with his crew, and he said, Chief, we couldn't even make the third floor. That's when I knew it was time for a decision. I had approximately a dozen firefighters lined up, ready to go up.
I stood in the doorway at the base of that stairwell. I looked at them and I said, that's it, no more. Some of them started to get vocal and said, what do you mean? What do you mean? They're still up there. What do you mean no more? And that's when I said, look it, we've already lost four. We're not going to lose any more. Then McNamee called for an all out.
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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. Three days later, Paul Brotherton was the last of the six to be found.
These were my husband's dog tags that they found. I'm happy I was able to have something. But amid the grief and the tributes. Thomas S. Levesque, Julie Ann Barnes. An arrest. The homeless couple that the firefighters went looking for are charged with six counts of manslaughter. If we can establish that arson occurred, then maybe a more appropriate charge could be murder.
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The two people who started the fire are brought into court to be charged. Two homeless people are charged with accidentally setting that blaze. 37-year-old Tom Levesque, a drifter, and his 19-year-old companion, Julianne Barnes, who is three months pregnant. They've been living illegally in the vacant warehouse for months.
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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. And then, unexpectedly, there is a dramatic development in the court case. The judge drops the charges against the homeless couple accused of setting that deadly Worcester warehouse fire. They dropped the charges against Julie. She doesn't have to go to court anymore.
The judge dismisses all the charges against both Julie and Tom Levesque. We're just extremely grateful that he made this decision and it was a well thought out decision.
Was it wrong what they did to walk away from such a fire? Did they even know what they did? In the end, the judge rules the fire was an accident and decides the case by the letter of the law alone. In Massachusetts, there is no legal obligation to report a fire. And since this broadcast first aired, Whoa, girl. You like that?
Julie was hired as a full-time hotel housekeeper. You accomplished what many people said would be impossible to do. I even think you had your doubts. I think a lot of people had their doubts. We never doubted it. Yeah. We never doubted it.
We just knew it was going to happen. Looks like that little cat likes you. It had to happen because it was wrong. Now I see how right I am about her, that she's just an innocent soul that got lost in the system, and it's sad.
Julie Barnes, now free and living far from the streets of Worcester, free to begin a new life with a new and loving family. The very same week Julie Barnes began her new life, the families of the six Worcester firefighters whose lives were lost were in Colorado Springs, Colorado, joining there at the site of a national memorial to firefighters who died in the line of duty.
We're so proud of him. So proud of what he did. It's still so hard for the family of Jay Lyons and all the families of the fallen six from Worcester.
We are joined together today to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, America's bravest.
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