Leary's fund, EMC lend a hand; Firefighter training site a reality.

Byline: Scott J. Croteau

WORCESTER - Denis Leary and his television crew of firefighters are lucky; they have network cash to support their equipment needs.

But tight fiscal times mean the city doesn't readily have $1.5 million to build a training facility. The Leary Firefighters Foundation and EMC Corp., however, did have the cash - and now the Fire Department has a training building that also serves as a memorial to six firefighters who died in the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire Dec. 3, 1999.

"This is a dangerous job, and it's actually getting more dangerous; it's not getting easier. If it was my kid, my dog, my cat - I don't have a cat but you know I'm just hypothetically speaking - my mom, I would want these guys going in with the best equipment, the best training behind them," said the local boy and "Rescue Me" star.

"I wish these guys would get taken care of by the state government, the city government; the federal government would be a miracle."

"It is your mom," Worcester Fire Chief Gerard A. Dio replied with a smile, inside the training facility yesterday behind fire department headquarters on Grove Street.

The training facility will allow firefighters - especially new recruits - to perform tabletop training exercises, work out on the gym equipment and have classroom training. The building also can serve as an emergency response building and communication center for statewide emergencies.

"It's a functional building that trains new firefighters, that assists firefighters in the duties they have to do; it turns into an emergency response building, and at the same time it will always be a centerpiece for my cousin and the other five guys on that night, Dec. 3, 1999," Mr. Leary said. "I'm really proud of that."

Fire Lts. Timothy P. Jackson Sr., James F. Lyons III and Thomas E. Spencer and Firefighters Jeremiah M. Lucey, Paul A. Brotherton and Joseph T. McGuirk died in the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire. Firefighter Lucey was Mr. Leary's cousin.

A walk into the building's hallway reveals pictures of the six firefighters, mounted on a podium in front of a large glass window. There is also a photographic memorial on a wall across from an array of photographs showing some of the city's most famous fires.

Mr. Leary referred to the facility as the "Hall of Fame" for the city's firefighters. He noted any recruit class will see these pictures, remember their fallen brothers and learn inside the building.

Mr. Leary was playful with the chief, razzing him by saying the firefighters needed the gym equipment.

During his speech to a large crowd of city officials, media, family members of the Worcester six and firefighters, Chief Dio said, "you don't always get what you want. But sometimes, if you try real hard, you get what you need. This is what we need."

Mr. Leary followed that up with, "I would like to thank Chief Dio for invoking the Rolling Stones."

The facility is something the department probably never could have afforded, the chief said.

"Things like this don't happen often. The Fire Department has always gotten by with what it has," Chief Dio said. "We get cut in the budget; we're really one of many divisions that the manager has to deal with. But that's the way life is."

All the officials there continued to thank EMC Corp., of Hopkinton, for its continued support of The Leary Firefighters Foundation, which has given equipment and helped other fire departments in the country, including New York City and now New Orleans. EMC has donated more than $1 million to the foundation since it started in 2000.

"Training is so important in any industry," said EMC Vice Chairman William J. Teuber Jr. "Whether it's training on technology in our business or training to be successful in fighting fires, which is critically important to us, we think training is one of the critical attributes for the success of any business."

As officials spoke, the odor of burned hay emanated from the burn tower (a two-story building used for training), another donation from Mr. Leary's group.

"We are most grateful that the memories of these six firefighters will be forever memorialized in the training center," City Manager Michael V. O'Brien told the crowd. "It is a living and breathing memorial, where the latest training techniques and efforts will provide their brothers and sisters with improved tools to stay safe."

Even though Mr. Leary joked a little about the department's physical fitness, Chief Dio said heart attacks among older personnel are always an issue in the firefighting business. Heart attacks are the leading cause of deaths for firefighters, he said, noting one-third of his department is more than 50 years old.

Getting firefighters in the facility and physically fit will help, Chief Dio said.

"It was 100 years ago the Worcester Fire Department started officially training their people; 100 years later, we finally get a classroom and facility," said the chief.

However, funding is the key, Mr. Leary said. He said he finds it interesting that people hold firefighters in high regard but tax dollars don't always reach them. He urged people to reach the local politicians about funding firefighters.

"Firefighters are always there to save you or to help you. I think that's really what this is about," said Mr. Leary, dressed in jeans and a polo shirt. "That's how we built this building; it's how we built the burn towers. It's telling people there is a need and they respond. I wish that we didn't have to do it that way."

NAME: WORCESTER FIRE DEPARTMENT

ART: PHOTOS

CUTLINE: (1) Denis Leary, center, shakes hands with EMC Vice Chairman William J. Teuber Jr., left, and Fire Chief Gerard A. Dio in front of the new Fire Department Training Center yesterday. (2) Denis Leary, star of "Rescue Me" and cousin of fallen Firefighter Jeremiah M. Lucey, comments on the photographs of the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire, inside the new Fire Department Training Center yesterday.

PHOTOG: T&G Staff/DAN GOULD