Watertown firm chosen to design Firefighters Memorial
By Monica Deady/ Staff Writer Friday,
October 1, 2004
Story from the Watertown TAB

A Watertown design firm was chosen this week to create the Worcester Firefighters Memorial, winning a national competition and the support of the jury that chose a design to honor the six firefighters who perished in the December 1999 warehouse fire.

"We were very excited to see it was us," said project manager Paul Simon, principal of Gala Simon Associates on Orchard Street. "We're the little guys, but we paid attention to what they were looking for."

Gala Simon's design was announced as the winner at a press conference Monday in Worcester. It was one of 158 initial submissions, chosen from five finalists.

The design includes six columns placed in a circle that extend upwards and towards each other, connecting through beams of light that extend from the tops of the columns. There is also a walkway timeline and an acknowledgement wall, which will include a place for remnants of the destroyed building site to be brought to the memorial.

The columns will each represent one of the firefighters who perished, and will bear the names of the firefighters as well as an engraved memorial.

Six firefighters died in the fire, which has been called the third-worst fire in Massachusetts' history. The firefighters were all searching for each other when they died, and Simon said the converging lights will symbolize them finding each other.

Simon said he and his team were relieved to see the news stories and the families of the victims on television accepting their project.

"I felt honored and it was just very emotional, just to know we're doing the right thing and doing a very good thing and a very positive thing," he said. "We're just trying to do the best we can for these families, the city of Worcester. It's our way of contributing the best way we know how."

"I'm very happy this one was chosen. It's just beautiful," said Hopedale resident Mary Jackson, whose husband, Lt. Timothy P. Jackson, died in the fire.

Andy Rojas, a Boston-based landscape architect and chairman of the memorial's jury committee, said he was proud of the design team for the project they created.

He said the nine-member jury selected GSA's project because it was "the most powerful" memorial presented, but admitted the competition was "very tight" among the five finalists.

"Their primary memorial [the six columns] was definitely the most powerful of the ones presented, and the firefighters in particular on the jury were extremely touched by it," Rojas said.

The memorial and memorial park will be located off Grove Street, next to the Worcester Fire Headquarters, and adjacent to Salisbury Pond near Institute Park in Worcester. It is expected to cost between $3 million and $5 million to build, and will be paid for through fund raising.

The Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial will honor firefighters Jackson, James F. "Jay" Lyons III of Worcester, Paul A. Brotherton of Auburn, Jeremiah M. Lucey of Leicester, Joseph T. McGuirk of Leicester and Lt. Thomas E. Spencer of Worcester.

Members of the GSA design team include Simon, civil engineer Alberto Gala, architect Cristobal Arria and interior designer Colleen Simon.

Among the other finalists, Stephen Stimson Associates of Falmouth came in second, Benjamin Kou of Cambridge was third, Ben Smoot of Brookline fourth, and Chuni Wang of Waltham placed fifth.

Simon said that the firm has worked on large-scale projects before, but this one has been more high profile. He added that on Sunday, Sept. 26, the firm's Web site, www.gsadesign.com, received 39 hits. On Monday, Sept. 27, the day the winning firm was announced, the site received 904 hits.

CNC Staff Writer Eunice Kim contributed to this report.

Monica Deady can be reached at mdeady@cnc.com.

Memorial design chosen to honor fallen Worcester firefighters
By Eunice Kim / News Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Story from the Millford Daily News

WORCESTER -- Six columns symbolizing collective strength and six intersecting beams of light illuminating lasting bravery will serve as the ultimate memorial for the Worcester firefighters killed in a 1999 warehouse blaze.

The winning design, chosen after a nationwide competition that was whittled to five entries earlier this year and unveiled at a press conference yesterday, was proposed by landscape architectural firm Gala Simon Associates of Watertown.

"I'm very happy this one was chosen. It's just beautiful," said Hopedale resident Mary Jackson, whose husband, Lt. Timothy P. Jackson, died in the fire.

An 11-member jury of fire officials, architects and other professionals selected the design Friday out of five finalists, all from Massachusetts.

"The firm is very honored that this design was chosen. I think it perpetuates the memory of the (fallen firefighters)," said Paul Simon, vice president of Gala Simon Associates, which will get $30,000 for winning. "It will be lasting."

Gala Simon Associates' proposal features six vertical, inward-leaning columns that decrease in size from the base upward. Beams of light are slated to shoot from the top of each column and intersect at a point.

"The structural form of the memorial is a symbol of the strength and unity of the six (firefighters) and all firefighters," Simon said. "We feel this memorial will serve as a place for people to reflect on the ultimate sacrifice made on Dec. 3, 1999."

Each column will be engraved with the name of one of the six firefighters. In the center of the columns will sit a circle containing remnants of stone, brick and concrete from the site of the warehouse fire.

"This was our choice....We're so pleased with the design," said James Lyons, whose son James F. "Jay" Lyons III of Worcester, died in the fire. "We thought it had a lot of soul, which every memorial needs."

Lyons and other family members of the six fallen firefighters embraced yesterday as they viewed a scale model of the chosen design.

"This exciting design represents the most important step forward in our memorial committee's three-year quest for a tribute worthy of our six courageous fallen heroes," said Michael J. Donoghue, chairman of the Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial Committee, which was established to create the memorial.

Among the other finalists, Stephen Stimson Associates of Falmouth came in second, Benjamin Kou of Cambridge was third, Ben Smoot of Brookline fourth and Chuni Wang of Waltham placed fifth.

Juror Cameron Roberts said Gala Simon Associates' design was selected as the winner because it seemed most feasible, both financially and in terms of construction.

Simon estimated it will cost $4.2 million to develop the memorial and surrounding memorial park, which will sit off Grove Street, next to Worcester Fire Headquarters and adjacent to Salisbury Pond near Institute Park.

The Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial will honor firefighters Jackson, Lyons, Paul A. Brotherton of Auburn, Jeremiah M. Lucey of Leicester, Joseph T. McGuirk of Leicester, and Lt. Thomas E. Spencer of Worcester. They died Dec. 3, 1999, in the blaze in an abandoned Worcester warehouse as they searched for homeless people believed to be inside.

"Today starts a new beginning for the Worcester Fire Department," said Frank Raffa, president of the Worcester firefighters union and member of the memorial committee. "We're excited about the new design for the memorial dedicated to our six fallen brothers."

Raffa said the memorial is also a way to say thank you to the community for its support. "This is going to make a big improvement to Institute Park. It's for all of you," he said.

City Manager Michael O'Brien said the memory of Dec. 3, 1999, is "still with all of us."

"It's something we'll never forget in our hearts and in our minds," he said.

Worcester Mayor Timothy Murray said generations of Worcester residents and the country will learn from the memorial how the community came together.

Despite yesterday's milestone, Donoghue said the memorial committee's work is far from over. Through a fund-raising campaign, it must now begin seeking financial support from the community to fund the memorial park and then build the memorial.

"We hope that the memories of the six firefighters, the faith of their families, and the honor of our community are as well served by these continuing efforts as we believe they are with this stunning design," Donoghue said.

Jackson said she thinks her husband would have liked the winning design. She said she herself liked it from the beginning, when there were 158 proposed designs.

"It's going to be something spectacular when it's done," she said.

Worcester to reveal design of memorial to firefighters
By Tom Farmer
Monday, September 27, 2004
Story from the Boston Herald

The city of Worcester will take a major step today to ensure that the memory of six fallen firefighters is never forgotten when the winning design for a memorial in their honor is announced at Worcester Fire Department headquarters.

Judges spent the weekend poring over designs from five finalists and the winner of the $30,000 first prize will be announced this morning.

The Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial Committee received 158 entries for what will be a world-class memorial on city land near the Grove Street fire headquarters.

Vying for the final design are Stephen Stimson Associates of Falmouth; Ben Smoot of Brookline; Benjamin Kou of Cambridge; Chuni Wang of Waltham; and Gala Simon Associates, Inc., of Watertown.

The six fallen firefighters were killed in December 1999 during a fire at the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co.

Five finalists announced for firefighters memorial
By Tom Farmer
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Story from the Boston Herald

In the nearly five years since six Worcester firefighters lost their lives in a devastating warehouse fire, their family and friends have run the gamut of grief and heartbreak.

For the first time yesterday, there were warm feelings connected to the shocking loss of the Worcester six who answered their last alarm on Dec. 3, 1999, at the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co.

The Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial Committee unveiled five finalists from 158 entries in a design contest that marks another major step in erecting a ``world-class'' memorial for Jeremiah Lucey, Paul Brotherton, Thomas Spencer, Jay Lyons, Joseph McGuirk and Timothy Jackson.

``It's a big step,'' said District Fire Chief Michael McNamee, who prevented more deaths that horrible night by blocking other firefighters from going into the building when he realized there was no hope for the six already missing.

One design that features intricate pillars denoting the locations where each of the six were found left him choked up. ``That kind of hit a little bit extra,'' McNamee said.

Although the memorial committee received entries representing 35 states, the five finalists coincidentally are from Massachusetts. The finalist will be selected in September.

Vying for the $30,000 first prize and a chance to see their design became the lasting memorial for the fallen firefighters are Stephen Stimson Associates of Falmouth; Ben Smoot of Brookline; Benjamin Kou of Cambridge; Chuni Wang of Waltham; and Gala Simon Associates Inc. of Watertown.

``This is an exciting period for us. It keeps the memory of our fallen brothers alive,'' said Frank Raffa, the union president for the Worcester Fire Department.

Five Bay State architects chosen as memorial finalists
By Eunice Kim / News Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Story from the MetroWest Daily News

WORCESTER -- Five Massachusetts architects and firms have been selected as finalists in the nationwide competition to design a memorial to the six Worcester firefighters who died in a 1999 warehouse inferno.

The finalists, announced at a press conference yesterday, are landscape architecture firm Stephen Stimson Associates of Falmouth, architect Ben Smoot of Brookline, architect Benjamin Kou of Cambridge, architect Chuni Wang of Waltham, and civil engineering and landscape architectural firm Gala Simon Associates Inc. of Watertown.

"Although the fire touched people all over the world, I think there was a stronger connection to people in Massachusetts. They lived it...It touched their hearts," said Frank Raffa, president of the Worcester firefighters union and member of the Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial Committee, established to create the memorial.

An 11-member jury of fire chiefs, architects and other professionals chose the finalists out of 158 entrees from across the country.

"We're very excited and honored to be involved with the project. It's one that we feel is very important," said Paul Simon, vice president of Gala Simon Associates.

The finalists will now vie to design the $3 million to $5 million memorial and surrounding memorial park, which will be located off Grove Street, next to Worcester Fire Headquarters and adjacent to Salisbury Pond near Institute Park. The jury will select the winner Sept. 24.

"I personally feel confident we will have a winner out of these five," said Ken Poalina, design consultant to the Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial Committee.

The five designs each pay tribute to the fallen firefighters by incorporating some element of six, such as six pillars or six notches in a single monument that allow sunlight to pass through.

The design by Gala Simon Associates consists of six engraved monuments, which lean inward and decrease in size from the base upward. Beams of light are proposed to project from the top of each monument and intersect at one point.

"There are individual monuments that would represent each one of the fallen heroes, yet the design invokes that they rely on one other...kind of symbolic of the firefighters intention to find each other during the fire," Simon said.

In the middle of the monuments would sit a circle containing remnants of stone, brick and concrete from the warehouse site. "The stone would be ceremonial, placed in this circle as a means of transporting the exiting memorial to this location," Simon said.

In the design by Kou, six granite and bronze pillars stand on a granite base, which is shaped like the footprint of the warehouse where the firefighters died. The pillars are positioned to mark the last known location of the six firefighters.

The Waltham finalist could not be reached for comment yesterday.

"This memorial is going to be a place where firefighters can visit. Our community will be able to come down and reflect on what these six brave men did on that night," Raffa said.

The Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial will honor firefighters Lt. Timothy P. Jackson of Hopedale, Paul A. Brotherton of Auburn, Jeremiah M. Lucey of Leicester, James F. "Jay" Lyons III of Worcester, Joseph T. McGuirk of Leicester, and Lt. Thomas E. Spencer of Worcester. They died Dec. 3, 1999, in the fire in an abandoned Worcester warehouse as they searched for homeless people believed to be inside.

Worcester Fire Chief Gerard Dio, a juror on the memorial panel, said it was important to the jury that the six firefighters be "highlighted in some way" in the memorial.

"We wanted it to be interactive," he added, saying he wants new firefighter recruits to be taken to the memorial, so they can learn about the tragedy.

Dio said the jury also wanted the memorial to have room to recognize others who died in the line of duty as well as firefighters who worked on the day of the tragedy.

"The loss of the six fallen firefighters and the impact...on the community has placed a special responsibility and awareness on the (Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial) Committee," said Michael J. Donoghue, president of the committee.

Worcester City Manager Michael O'Brien said the city stands committed to the memorial project. "We carry this tragedy and the memory of the fallen heroes in our hearts day in and day out," he said.

Raffa said the memorial will give thanks to the residents who stood shoulder to shoulder with firefighters in the days following the fire.

"This is an exciting time for us. This is an exciting time for the community. It's a way to say thank you to the community. This is our way to give back," he said.