..........The Worcester Six..........

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We came to be known

as the Worcester Six

but we were just firemen

the ones God had picked

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We were called to respond

to a fire one night

when we arrived on the scene

there was no one in sight

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A fire in a warehouse

the dispatcher said

we were told it was empty

we thought, victims, instead

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A faint wisp of smoke

hung in the air

the fire lay waiting

deep inside, somewhere

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A cold winter’s wind

cut through the cold

we assume someone’s inside

no matter what we’re told

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Engine-men were stretching

their hose up the stairs

as Ladder-men gathered tools

getting prepared…

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…for the task lying before us

to search and to vent

this is our responsibility

it’s why we’re sent

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As we entered the building

looking up toward the sky

no windows were visible

we’d have to vent high

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So we climbed up six flights

to access the roof

light smoke in the stairway

serving as proof

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That a fire was present

not yet too intense

these measures we employ

are the proper defense

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They allow us more time

For search, and for rescue

Before the fire gets rolling

Cutting off our escape route

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After we vented the roof

We descended one floor

To begin searching for victims

Entering through a door

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We’re in a windowless room

Our lights cut through the haze

From one room to another

Soon we’re lost in this maze

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As we’re searching for victims

And for the exit

The fire suddenly intensifies

As oxygen reaches it

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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

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Desperately, we look for the stairs

but can’t find our way out

fumble for our radios

“Mayday, Mayday”, we shout

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Crawling through this labyrinth

from room to room

only twelve minutes of air

between us and our doom

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We try to relay our location

to our brothers outside

in hopes that they’ll find us

before we have died

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Enveloped in the darkness

time seemed to be frozen

suddenly aware of the risks

of this profession we’d chosen

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It takes but a moment to realize

we may not survive

we’re now sharing our air

trying to stay alive

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Meanwhile, desperation outside

as we lay dying

a rescue plan put together

two brothers are trying

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Trying to reach us in time

and pull us to safety

but their effort’s in vain

it just wasn’t to be

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They crawl through the darkness

and become lost, too

now the rescuers are victims

so they start another crew

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No shortage of volunteers

outside the building

to risk his life for his brothers

every man is willing

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The only thing that mattered now

was finding their brothers

for it’s their unwritten code

to depend on each other

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As the third crew fell victim

to this hellish structure

whether more crews be sent in

was up for conjecture

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It was then that the Chief did

what had to be done

he pulled everyone out of there

the building had won

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It had swallowed our bravest

and was not giving them up

in a last act of bravery that night

the Chief said, “Enough!”

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For more than two weeks following

as the world looked on

the city of Worcester, Massachusetts

recovered their brave sons

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There were funerals and memorials

and a Presidential proclamation

the bravery and valor of these men

was beyond imagination

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....God keep you Paul, Tim, Tom, Jeremiah, Joe, & Jay

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Copyright 2004 Tom Kenney