Worcester firefighter dies after 3-alarm fire

WORCESTER, Mass. -- One firefighter was killed and a second was injured after the two were trapped inside a burning building in Worcester Thursday morning.

The firefighters were responding to a three-alarm blaze on Arlington Street when they entered the building to search for a victim. They reportedly lost contact with emergency crews outside when a wall collapsed on top of them.

One of those firefighters was trapped for an hour inside the structure. Brian Carroll, a 14-year department veteran is in stable condition in the hospital. He was in good spirits on Thursday morning.

The second firefighter, however, was not located until sometime later. John Davies was removed from the building, placed on a stretcher and taken to the hospital where he later died. Davies was a 17-year veteran of Rescue 1. He leaves behind three sons, including two in the military -- one is serving in Afghanistan.

“People throw around the world hero a lot, but again this is proof positive of what our firefighters do, first responders, on a moment’s notice,” one official said. “So we’ve just got to be there to support them and the families.”

Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray and State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan were both on the scene Thursday morning as crews worked to determine the cause of the fire.

There were reports that one of the occupants of the building may not have been accounted for, but there were no immediate details about the identity of that individual.

Just 12 years ago in 1999, six firefighters died in a fire at a cold storage warehouse in Worcester.

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