Guest MINDSETTER™ Tom Kenney: The Worcester Six
Thursday, December 03, 2015
as the Worcester Six
but we were just firemen
the ones God had picked
We were called to respond
to a fire one night
when we arrived on the scene
there was no one in sight
A fire in a warehouse
the dispatcher said
we were told it was empty
we thought, victims, instead
A faint wisp of smoke
hung in the air
the fire lay waiting
deep inside, somewhere
A cold winter’s wind
cut through the cold
we assume someone’s inside
no matter what we’re told
Engine-men were stretching
their hose up the stairs
as Ladder-men gathered tools
getting prepared…
…for the task lying before us
to search and to vent
this is our responsibility
it’s why we’re sent
As we entered the building
looking up toward the sky
no windows were visible
we’d have to vent high
So we climbed up six flights
to access the roof
light smoke in the stairway
serving as proof
That a fire was present
not yet too intense
these measures we employ
are the proper defense
They allow us more time
for search and for rescue
before the fire gets rolling
cutting off our escape route
After we vented the roof
we descended one floor
to begin searching for victims
entering through a door
We’re in a windowless room
our lights cut through the haze
from one room to another
soon we’re lost in a maze
As we’re searching for victims
and for the exit
the fire suddenly intensifies
as oxygen reaches it
In what seems a blink of an eye
the smoke’s black and thick
we don our masks with urgency
we need to get out quick
Desperately look for the stairs
can’t find our way out
fumble for our radios
“Mayday, Mayday” we shout
Crawling through this labyrinth
from room to room
only twelve minutes of air
between us and our doom
We try to relay our location
to our brothers outside
in hopes that they’ll find us
before we have died
Enveloped in the darkness
time seemed to be frozen
suddenly aware of the risks
of this profession we’d chosen
It takes but a moment to realize
we may not survive
we’re now sharing our air
trying to stay alive
Meanwhile, desperation outside
as we lay dying
a rescue plan put together
two brothers are trying
Trying to reach us in time
and pull us to safety
but their effort’s in vain
it just wasn’t to be
They crawl through the darkness
and become lost too
now the rescuers are victims
so they start another crew
No shortage of volunteers
outside the building
to risk his life for his brothers
every man is willing
The only thing that mattered now
was finding their brothers
for it’s their unwritten code
to depend on each other
As the third crew fell victim
to this hellish structure
whether more crews be sent in
was up for conjecture
It was then that the Chief did
what had to be done
he pulled everyone out of there
the building had won
It had swallowed our bravest
and was not giving them up
in a last act of bravery that night
the Chief said, “Enough!”
For more than two weeks following
as the world looked on
the city of Worcester, Massachusetts
recovered their brave sons
There were funerals and memorials
and a Presidential proclamation
the bravery and valor of these men
was beyond imagination
God keep you Paul, Tim, Tom, Jeremiah, Joe, & Jay
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