48 Hours - Heroes Under Fire

Episode Date: December 4, 2024

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+.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Fire at 263 Franklin Street. It started with a candle and exploded into an inferno. This fire was a monster. Six firefighters trapped. You couldn't see anything in there. Trying to rescue a homeless couple. If he knew anyone was in the building,

he would be right in there. He was doing his job. Exclusive details. What's going through your head? We've got to get this done. We don't have a lot of time. From the heat of battle, all of a sudden, there was a radio message. We've got to get this done. We don't have a lot of time. From the heat of battle, all of a sudden there was a radio message.

And Bill Lagatuto has the remarkable story of the homeless teenager accused of helping to start the fire. When I saw the picture I knew immediately. Will an amazing twist of fate turn her life around forever? This tragedy doesn't need another victim. A devastating fire that captured the nation's heart. I said my God my son is trapped in that building. Heroes under fire. Music First alarm sounded here, Central Station in the heart of Western Massachusetts.

It set off a chain of events unlike anything this city had ever seen. What happened here is a story of courage and sacrifice. We'll take you behind the lines into a world where bravery, honor, and devotion to work and the family are on display every day. A world where seemingly ordinary men perform extraordinary deeds. All of it unfolding during a moment of crisis, a flashpoint for an entire city. But there's also a remarkable twist of fate that only underscores the dangers of the job and the selflessness of those who do it.

Heroes under fire. Come on boys, we're getting started. Okay, we got it. Okay, we're going to light it, son? Yes sir. That's all you have? Every day the firefighters of Worcester, Massachusetts come to work ready. To do what they've been trained to do.

And what they love to do. We believe we are the penultimate tough guys. We believe that we cannot be beaten. We believe that we're going to go in and we're going to solve the problem. And we're going to beat this building, we're going to win and we're going to leave. Just like we do every other time. Captain Robert A. Johnson. We always believe we can do the job. And District Chief Mike McNamee.

This is just, this is our job, this is what we do. Had never seen a building beat any of their men. But when they went to do their job one evening, these firefighters faced a fire that still haunts them every day. Last thought before I close my eyes at night, first thought when I wake up in the morning, if I wake up during the night, it's what's on my mind and a hundred times during the day. It was December 3rd, 1999, just after six in the evening. All of a sudden, the alarm hit.

A report of smoke coming from a downtown warehouse. Fire at 263 Franklin Street. Right away, it's a bad building. It. Right away I said, bad building. It's the Worcester Cold Storage Building. A relic from the industrial age, the Worcester Cold Storage Building had been vacant for almost a decade. And why did you say that's a bad building? You can picture a building that has virtually no windows in it.

Six stories worth of no windows. 18 inch thick brick walls. Very difficult to make your way around inside. You could lose your bearings very easily. But when they got to the warehouse, there were no flames in sight. It was a light to moderate smoke condition showing at the roof at that point. I can remember saying, well, it doesn't look too bad. Still, just as a precaution, Chief McNamee called for backup as the arriving firefighters got down to work,

laying hoses, venting the heat and smoke, searching for the fire, and also searching for anyone who might be inside. So many times we've gone into abandoned buildings and found people there. We never assume a building is empty. We always search. This time there was even more reason to search. I heard the first fire truck go by. I looked out the window and I see it stop. Bill McNeil ran out of his diner. First thing I did was go out

the door and run up the street. He reported that somebody might be inside. He knew two people who lived in the abandoned warehouse. 37-year-old Tom Lavec and 19-year-old Julie Barnes. She said they had an apartment set up over there. He had seen them walking to the building that afternoon. We were already going through the search anyways but then that made them comb it even more. One of the first to start searching for the couple He was doing his job was Paul Brotherton. He had just always wanted to be a firefighter.

Denise and Paul Brotherton were raising six boys. All of them knew how passionate their dad was about his job. What made it his passion? I think just the ability to be able to go in, to go in and make a difference, to save a comrade, to save someone from a building. Paul Bretherton's partner that night was Jerry Lucy. If he knew anyone was in the building, he would be right in there.

That's just how he was. Jerry's wife, Michelle, and the couple's two sons saw his passion for the job. You know he started collecting some pictures. They also saw the risks. And if you really look close at this picture you will see a silhouette right there in the fire. And I asked him what were you doing and he says well to be quite honest with you I was looking for a way to get out. Jerry Lucy and Paul Brotherton now went inside this warehouse along with two dozen other men, to search for the homeless couple who might be inside.

But none of them knew what they were walking into that night. None of them knew that the homeless couple they were now searching for had knocked over a candle which had set their belongings ablaze. None of them knew that this fire had already burned for 90 minutes before the alarm was called in. We found the fire on the second floor and we were attacking it and we thought we had it boxed. Then, in the blink of an eye, everything changed. I'd say three to four seconds it went from you looking at me and talking at me

to I'm not here anymore Just gone thick acrid smoke given off by the burning petroleum based insulation of the cold storage lockers Blinded those inside I gave a very loud yell on the stairway. I want all personnel down off the upper floors I want a head count As the men made their way out of the smoke-filled building. All of a sudden there was a radio message. Rescue 600 to command. We're in the building, we're disoriented, we cannot find our way out.

Somewhere inside the smoke-filled maze of cold storage rooms, Paul and Jerry were lost. We're looking at each other going, did you hear what he just said? To listen to men in that situation, especially when their friends are yours. That'll never leave me. I'll never forget it. Chief McNamee now ordered a new search

to find Jerry and Paul. What's going through your head at this moment? We've got to get this done. We don't have a lot of time. The men walked back into a building that was now bursting into flames. You couldn't see anything in there. You were just going by feel, senses, touch, and it was like nothing you've ever seen before. The men worked in shifts. There were probably up to 40 people at one time. There was Tim Jackson and his partner, Tommy Spencer.

Tommy Spencer had this look in his eyes, let's get this done. And they just watched them just disappear up into the smoke. There was Joe McGurk and his partner, a young man named Jay Lyons. Jay has a very special place in my heart because I moved into this house in 1977. Jay was 12 years old. He lived across the street. He became my young friend. He used to always quiz me about the fire department, the firefighters, until he finally became

a firefighter after he graduated from college. 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. Give us some guidance which way to go. We're running low on air, we better get out of here. 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 that was growing by the minute. In less than an hour, a sighting of smoke on the roof of the Worcester Cold Storage Building had exploded into a raging, full-alarm blaze. Yet incredibly, there were 40 firefighters inside the inferno, searching for two comrades, Paul Bretherton and Jerry Lucey, 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 Tim and Tom. With him and Tom. Nothing. And then the fourth or fifth call was almost a cry into the radio. Ladder 200, the ladder two. 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. 200, every time you transmit your roll-up, your line-up, roll it on. 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 anymore. Then, McNeady called. We're an all out. Somebody gets into every fire truck and starts giving successive short blasts of all the air homes. They hear this, they know it's bailout time.

What was your first reaction when the chief said? I burst into tears, but then I had to stop and physically restrain some of the men that were with me. It was like somebody had collectively kicked them all in the stomach. They deflated. The shoulders slumped. The hands fell. The heads went down.

At that final call, the fire just blew right through the roof. And it just really sunk in. It wasn't ending. You know there were guys in there and you didn't want to leave them in the air. But we also realized too that the chief was making the right decision at that point in time. I don't know if I would have had the guts to make that call. And that might have cost this department more lives. But the worst was far from over. The officer of Engine 3 came up to me and said, Chief, I can't find Jay or Joe.

Nobody's seen them. Joe McGurk was last seen with Jay Lyons. The boy, McNamee, watched grow up to be a firefighter. At that point, you thought you lost four. Four. Now it was six. Through these moments developing into minutes, what's your interior conversation?

You know, you hear the term, I have a heavy heart. developing into minutes, what's your interior conversation? You know, you hear the term, I have a heavy heart. I had the heaviest heart. I felt like a weight hanging in my chest. Looking at that building that night and just knowing that those six were in there, it was just a horrible, horrible feeling. There was no longer any way to fight this fire.

All the firefighters could do was keep it from spreading and watch. Also watching that night was the homeless couple the firefighters had gone looking for. Julie Barnes watched it from the window of a friend's motel room. Tom Levesque from the street. Word of the fire spread quickly through Worcester. Two Worcester firefighters are confirmed dead tonight, and at least two more are missing. Michelle Lucy was at work. My brother called to tell me that there was a fire in the city, and a lot of the times he would do that. Denise Brotherton was at home.

Paul always came home. This was not going to be any different. Paul was always going to come home. And the parents of 34-year-old Jay Lyons, Joan and Jim, were watching TV. The news came on and she said, my God, six firefighters are missing. Is Jay working? And he was. Mike McNamee, who had known Jay since he was a boy, he was the closest of the six, went to break the news to Jay's family himself. Mike McNamee came to the door. I've known him for 23 years and I cannot ever remember Joan calling me Michael. It's always Mike. She opened the door and she said, Michael, do you have bad news for me? And he said yes, that Jay was missing.

It was just such a terrible feeling. Jay's father Jim drove to the fire scene. I'll never forget that sight of that building. He needed to see for himself what his son was up against. The flames were shooting a hundred feet in the air. his son 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 we're 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, Paul. Jerry, Joe, Jay, Timmy and Tom, this is for you. Three days later, Paul Bretherton 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...

...and 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. Dracula, the ancient vampire who terrorizes Victorian London. Blood and garlic, bats and crucifixes, even if you haven't read the book, you think you know the story. One of the incredible things about Dracula

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trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery plus in the Wondery app, Apple podcasts or Spotify. As Worcester mourns major breaking developments in that tragic warehouse inferno in Worcester that kills six firefighters, the two people who started the fire are brought into court to be charged. Two homeless people are charged with accidentally setting that blaze. Thirty-seven-year-old Tom Lavec, a drifter, and his 19-year-old companion, Julie Ann Barnes, who is three months pregnant.

They'd been living illegally in the vacant warehouse for months. They had recently argued both had been in the building prior to the fire and knocked over a candle, which ignited some clothing. They tried to extinguish it, but did not. They're charged with six counts of manslaughter, six counts for six dead firefighters. The investigation is still continuing. We're not certain what kind of evidence may be revealed, if any. The police say the pair not only failed to put out the fire, they failed to report it.

They should have been aware enough to notify somebody that there was a fire there. Instead, they listened to there was a fire there. Instead, they listened to music at a nearby mall. They were right over in this area. The store manager overheard them arguing. She was raising her voice at him, and it seemed like she was angry at him. Then they went to have dinner at a food kitchen. And then they went their separate ways.

He stayed overnight in a friend's apartment. She stayed with a friend in a hotel room and watched the fire from a fourth-floor window. If we can establish that arson occurred, then maybe a more appropriate charge could be murder. But while Julie Barnes and Tom Lavec are being held in prison on high bail awaiting trial, 300 miles to the north, really a world away here along the coast of Maine, something is about to happen that will change this case completely. Tim and Deb King live in Ellsworth, Maine. One day, two weeks after the fire, Tim King picks up the morning paper to read the latest account of the tragedy. But when he sees this photograph of Julie Barnes' troubled,

bewildered face, Tim King notices something remarkable. I looked at the picture of Julie and said, gosh, she looks remarkably like my daughter, Jennifer. Sixteen-year-old Jennifer is Tim and Deb King's adopted daughter. When I saw the picture, I knew immediately it was Jennifer's biological sister. Deb King had always known Jennifer had an older sister named Julie. She had met Julie when she adopted Jennifer in Worcester 13 years ago.

Deb also knew that the sisters shared a significant limitation. Jennifer is diagnosed as mentally retarded. Most of her testing puts her at about a seven, eight-year-old functioning level. What was Julie's condition? Similar to what I felt Jennifer's was. seven, eight-year-old functioning level. What was Julie's condition? Similar to what I felt Jennifer's was. Very shy, slow. But when the Kings adopted Jennifer, they felt they just couldn't take on two kids with special needs, and Julie was left behind in foster care.

I never forgot about her, ever,. I never. I always wondered. You had a sense though that Julie's life was not anything close to her sister Jennifer's life. Right. I knew that. You felt that she would, wherever she was, things were not good. She wouldn't have it. No. It wasn't good. In and out of foster homes, then a life on the streets. And now, while Julie awaits trial in Worcester. She always had that happy little smile. This is her first hissy fit.

Back in Maine, Jennifer King. We're looking at pictures of you. The sister who grew up with love and support. After dinner, Jen, you need to take a shower. A special education honor roll student. You've certainly been on the honor roll a lot more than I was. Is getting ready for the last day of school.

Tell me about her personality. She's just sweet. Good night sweetheart. She looks for the good in everybody. She's just a beautiful, wonderful child. These two sisters, who've led strikingly different lives, have the kings wondering, what if? When you look at it and you realize that, oh my god, you know, this could have been

my daughter. Manslaughter, six counts. You think that Julie wouldn't have had the wherewithal to realize that the warehouse was on fire and that she needed to call the authorities? That's correct. Do you think that she knew the seriousness of the fire? No. Do you think she knew the potential of the fire?

No, absolutely not. What is it that you would like to do for her? Bring her here. In your home. That's correct. Why burden yourselves with this? I mean, you've got enough on your hands now. I feel a real commitment.

That I, it's Jennifer's sister. And maybe we can give Julie the chance that she hasn't had. It's the right thing to do. And it's the right thing to do. We have to get her out of there. And so, after a meeting with Julie in prison, the Kings make a major decision. Six counts of manslaughter. They will first work to get her out on bail and then, God. And then fight to get the charges dropped.

We're going down to Massachusetts. We're going to speak to groups. Welcome to Worcester. We're going to speak to individuals. If it wasn't for us, that could be Jennifer. We're going to speak to organizations. And for them, it was like looking in a mirror because they look so much alike.

We're going to raise this money. We're trying to raise $75,000 for the bail money. But in Worcester, where the wounds are still fresh, what they want for Julie will be a tough sell. I don't think we've healed enough for someone to come on the radio and ask for money to help this girl. What did she do wrong? And you don't think she has any responsibility to this?

What did she do wrong? They certainly could have called 911. They certainly could have told somebody. We can understand a fire starting accidentally. However, we find it troublesome and hard to understand that the fire department was not notified. Julie Ann Barnes, before the court... What do you say to the families of those firefighters,

to the 17 children who will never see their father again, to the grieving children who will never see their father again, to the grieving widows. What do you say about your fight to have the charges dropped? We say to them we have the utmost respect for them, for the families, for the firefighters, that we feel a tremendous sadness at their loss. But this tragedy doesn't need another victim. Will we go to the post office?

Will the Kings get Julie out of prison? Hundred dollars? Or will she pay the price for the deaths of six firefighters? In the weeks that followed, the building that had taken such a terrible toll on the city surrendered to the wrecking ball. Remnants of the old coal storage warehouse were torn down and cleared away. 300 miles away in Ellsworth, Maine, Deb and Tim King are on a mission to get Julie Barnes out of prison on bail and get all of the charges dropped. She's one of two homeless people charged with six counts of manslaughter for the firefighters'

deaths. Correspondent Bill Lagatuda continues now with Julie's story. Julie Barnes has been in prison for more than eight months. She's given birth to a baby boy who's been placed with a family for possible adoption. But Julie may soon get out if her lawyers can persuade a judge to reduce her bail. Julie may be released in the next day or so. Oh God, my heart is like pounding. I'm like so excited. Finally, the King's hard work has paid off. Thank you, coach.

The judge has ruled. Julie's companion, Tom Levesque, will stay in prison on high bail. But because of the efforts of Deb and Tim King, Julie's bail is reduced... I can't believe it, I can't believe it. ...to $25,000. I got the money. I'm on my way to the prison. ...which is just about all the King's have been able to raise. I had to take $25,000 in cash in my trunk. Doesn't this look like something in the old days

as a cowboy? And drive all the way to Massachusetts. The charges still stand but Julie is released from prison in the custody of the Kings. Today is a miracle because you live in your small town you work with your community but you just never realize that you can make a change like this. This is a big change. You know, we've made a big change. Okay, bye-bye, Eglinton. It's a five-hour car ride home to Ellsworth, Maine.

My sense tells me she really wants this family. She really wants the structure. I've got one of these. You like these? The following morning, Julie Barnes is getting to know her new family. Let's pretend they're not there. Julie is painfully shy. I'll put it in for you.

Oh, God! But by the time the Kings hit the shopping mall, she's beginning to feel a little more comfortable. There you go. There's your shoes. The Kings can't wait to see Julie reunited with her younger sister, Jennifer. Julie! Julie! That happens a week later when they pick up Jennifer from summer camp. Kings can't wait to see Julie reunited with her younger sister Jennifer. That happens a week later when they pick up Jennifer from summer camp. Guess who's here?

Can you guess who's here? Give her a hug. Guys! At first the meeting is a bit awkward. Pizza helps break the ice. These two sisters, sisters with similar faces and similar limitations, sisters separated for 13 years, are starting to find each other. How old is Julie? She's 20. How would you describe her intellectual age and her emotional age? She goes anywhere from a 12-year-old to maybe a 14 old. You know, she's like the boy crazy age.

You like NSYNC? Yep, Justin. He's fine looking. Come on, can you look at me for a second? I want to see your pretty face. Come on. I've been looking at pictures of you and I look at pictures of you. He's never met you. I've never met you before. Come on, I'm not that bad to look at. I don't look like Justin. I'm not as cool as he is.

Do she understand the charge against her? No. Why she's in court? No. Do you understand all of what's going on? No. You do? Blame me for six manslaughter.

Julie's muffled answer was, they blame me for six manslaughters. But will she be tried? If so, this will be a difficult case to prove. Is there a duty to report a fire? Does her disability excuse her failure to report? Should her companion be held more responsible? Or was this simply a horrible tragedy that produced six true heroes but no true villains? What do you think the authorities should do? Drop the charges?

Absolutely. Absolutely. Smile for the camera girl. I think that most people understand that even finding someone responsible, even finding someone at fault will not bring closure to the pain and the terrible wounds that Worcester, the Worcester area suffered. Doing anything to these people would be the equivalency of kicking a puppy. It may feel good but it's not going to change anything, and it's not going to teach them anything. Now Julie's lawyers must go back to court and ask the judge to drop all of the charges.

Hi, Julie. She still faces the possibility of 120 years behind bars. Even as difficult questions of justice hang over this city and this case, the families of the six firefighters who were lost are facing another fight to try and rebuild their lives. Did you know that after World War II, the US government quietly brought former Nazi scientists to America in a covert operation to advance military technology? Or that in the 1950s, the US Army conducted a secret experiment by releasing bacteria

over San Francisco to test how a biological attack might spread without alerting the public? These might sound like conspiracy theories, but they're not. They're well-documented government operations that have been hidden away in classified files for decades. I'm Luke Lamanna, a Marine Corps recon vent, and I've always had a thing for digging into the unknown. It's what led me to start my new podcast, Redacted Declassified Mysteries. In it, I explore hidden truths and reveal some eye-opening events, like covert experiments and secret operations that those in power tried to keep buried. Follow redacted, declassified mysteries with me, Luke Lamanna, on the Wondery app or wherever

you get your podcasts. To listen ad-free, join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. He was hip-hop's biggest mogul, the man who redefined fame, fortune and the music industry. The first male rapper to be honored on the Hollywood Walk Cafe, Sean Diddy Cone. Diddy built an empire and lived a life most people only dream about. Everybody know there ain't no party like a Diddy party, so. Yeah, that's what's up.

But just as quickly as his empire rose, it came crashing down. Today I'm announcing the unsealing of a three-count indictment, charging Sean Combs with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, interstate transportation for prostitution. I was f***ed up. I hit rock bottom but I made no excuses. I'm disgusted. I'm so sorry. Until you're wearing an orange jumps jumpsuit it's not real now it's real. From his meteoric rise to his shocking fall from grace from law and crime this is the rise and fall of getting listen to

the rise and fall of getting exclusively with one 3 plus. Plus. Michael and Brian Brotherton are no strangers to Worcester's Central Fire Station or the antics of the firefighters. They ride with us, they'll spend nights with us, they eat with us, they get yelled at by us. We cut them no slack. All over here is the rescue site. For six years, this was their father's second home.

This side is the engine. All engine one. Our father slept right here. This was his bunk. Paul Brotherton died December 3, 1999, doing the job he loved. His son, Brian, had always wanted to follow his dad. So when you come up, what, do you sleep down here with the rescue group? Yes.

Yeah. Sleep in the same bed as my dad slept in. Before the fire, I had an idea of being a firefighter. This is what generates the joys of life. Since the fire, Michaels made up his mind. When did you decide you wanted to do something in firefighting? Pretty much right after the fire. They're very proud of their father. And a lot of people including this person might say, but having lost your husband to fire, does it occur to you, well maybe to hope against hope they won't do it?

to you, well, maybe the hope against hope they won't do it. It doesn't bother me. I will respect them in whatever endeavor they choose. You have six children. Yes. How do you cope with this? They keep my feet planted every day. They always talked about Jerry having that twinkle in his eye. Jerry Lucy's wife Michelle is turning her grief into action. When you lose somebody who was so involved in something that he believed in,

I think you really want to make something positive, you know, come out of it and have their deaths not be in vain. If you had a vacant building... The campaign begins in Worcester. I'm on the abandoned building task force. Michelle has teamed up with Kathy Spencer, the widow of firefighter Tom Spencer. If the building is totally boarded up...

They're looking at new ways to keep homeless people out of Worcester's vacant buildings to prevent future tragedies. And they could be perforated so that the firefighters can see out. My name is Michelle R. Lucy. Michelle is also lobbying the city for more training and equipment. Equipment like these thermal imaging cameras, which allow firefighters to see through smoke. How you doing, Jeff? I'm going to the fire.

Since the tragedy, eight cameras have been donated to the department. I'm fighting now for his brothers, and I'm fighting now for our future firefighters. They may be my children someday. There's 17 children that are left behind, but I'm sure at least half of them are going to be firefighters. A federal safety panel cited equipment failure and confusion over the building's layout. But the lead investigator acknowledged there's no way of knowing if anything could have prevented the deaths of the firefighters. You must think at least some of the time, is there anything that I could have, should

have done differently? Well if I was second guessing myself, one thing I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you right now, I'd be over in a corner somewhere, curled up in a ball. The scary part about what happened that night was we fought that fire the way we fought a thousand other fires. We went by the numbers. We vented, we entered, we attacked the fire, and we searched. That's what we do at every fire. That of course is my husband, Paul. The support Denise Bretherton has received, not only from her community, but across the

nation, is helping her to cope with her loss. All of the letters and cards, about how many did you get? Somewhere between 30 and 40 thousand. This is one of 39 containers that I have accumulated. I had one letter up on my refrigerator that said, Dear Mrs. Brotherton, Spider-Man used to be my hero, but no more Mr. Brotherton is. What a wonderful thing for the child. Phenomenal, phenomenal.

This is where everybody sits. The tribute Michael and Brian Brotherton want to make is to proudly wear the uniform of a Worcester firefighter, just like their dad. There's no better legacy than to have the son carry on in the footsteps of the father. And I think they would do themselves proud, and their dad proud. While the Brudderton boys have a clear view of their destiny, the future of Julie Barnes and Tom Levesque hinges on a court's decision. They both face very serious charges of manslaughter. 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. From the award-winning masters of audio horror, I see a face right up against the window. Bleach white, no hair, black eyes, a round hole for a mouth. It's flat, Taylor. It's completely flat.

I don't know what that is. I don't know what kind of a head is flat. comes the return of Dark Sanctum. What is that coming under the door? It's blood. Oh my god. Seven original chilling tales inspired by the Twilight Zone and Tales from the Crypt. Get back in your car. Lizzie, it's okay.

I'm here now. Josh, get in your car! Starring Bethany Joy Lenz, Clive Standen, and Michael O'Neil. Welcome to the Dark Sanctum. Listen to Dark Sanctum Season 2 exclusively on Wondry+. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. You don't believe in ghosts? I get it. Lots of people don't. I didn't either until I came face to face with them.

Ever since that moment, hauntings, spirits, and the unexplained have consumed my entire life. I'm Nadine Bailey. I've been a ghost tour guide for the past 20 years. I've taken people along with me into the shadows, uncovering the macabre tales that linger in the darkness and inside some of the most haunted houses, hospitals, prisons, and more.

Join me every week on my podcast, Haunted Canada, as we journey through terrifying and bone-chilling stories of the unexplained. Search for Haunted Canada on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. Hey! In Maine, still facing six counts of manslaughter, Julie Barnes is trying hard to become a brand

new person. What did 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. Oh my God. The judge dismisses all the charges against both Julie and Tom LeVeque. 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 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. For the Lyons and the Brothertons and the Lucys and the Jacksons and the McGurks and the Spencers, there was a chance to share a sense of loss and a sense of purpose with 53 other families. And somehow these families and these firefighters will carry on. He was doing his job. He'd be saying, what's going on with all this stuff?

We were just doing our job. The true heroes are these firefighters that had to get back on the truck. Every one of the guys sitting here at this table and everyone on this department are the same way. They're all heroes. As long as there's firefighters, there's going gonna be heroes.

If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at Wondery.com slash survey. A few years ago, while digging through a box in storage, I expected to find old keepsakes from the 1990s. Instead, I found VHS tapes and police reports detailing a murder that happened in Dayton, Ohio. Police arrested Jim McCordell and Timothy Perrow for the Triangle Park murder. And as the two are brought to jail,

McCordell blames Terrell. I didn't do it. Right there's the look. That to jail, McQuirter blames Terrell. I didn't do it. Right there's the m—, that's it, right there. As I dug through the contents of the box, I uncovered that the murderer may have been connected to a group who called themselves the Lords of Death. I'm Thrasher Banks, host of the new Tinder for TV show Lords of Death. Join me as I unpack the box and discover connections between the Lords of Death and a slew of unsolved murders. They're just two little scrawny men, but what makes them so scary is their emptiness, their

lack of conscience. People like that you know are capable of doing anything. Lords of Death is available now. Listen for free on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Did you know that after World War II, the US government quietly brought former Nazi scientists to America in a covert operation to advance military technology?

Or that in the 1950s, the US Army conducted a secret experiment by releasing bacteria over San Francisco to test how a biological attack might spread without alerting the public? These might sound like conspiracy theories, but they're not. They're well-documented government operations that have been hidden away in classified files for decades.

I'm Luke Lamanna, a Marine Corps recon vent, and I've always had a thing for digging into the unknown. It's what led me to start my new podcast, Redacted Declassified Mysteries. In it, I explore hidden truths and reveal some eye-opening events, like covert experiments and secret operations that those in power tried to keep buried. Follow Redacted, Declassified Mysteries with me, Luke Lamanna, on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. To listen ad-free, join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app.

They say Hollywood is where dreams are made. A seductive city where many flock to get rich, be adored, and capture America's heart. But when the spotlight turns off, fame, fortune, and lives can disappear in an instant. When TV producer Roy Raden was found dead in a canyon near LA in 1983. There were many questions surrounding his death. The last person seen with him was Laney Jacobs, a seductive cocaine dealer who desperately wanted to be part of the Hollywood elite. Together they were trying to break into the movie industry.

But things took a dark turn when a million dollars worth of cocaine and cash went missing. From Wondery comes a new season of the hit show Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder. Follow Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of The Cotton Club Murder early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus.