Watch MA Memorial for FF on Anniversary of Heroic Sacrifice

The city of Worcester and its fire department on Friday will honor the life of Lt. Jason Menard one year after he died battling a four-alarm blaze.

Menard was called a hero for his actions on the morning of Nov. 13, 2019. As flames tore through a three-decker at 7 Stockholm St., Menard led one firefighter to the stairs and pushed another firefighter out a window to safety before fire took over the top floor, claiming Menard’s life.

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At 4 p.m. on Friday, there will be a wreath-laying and speaking program in memory of Menard at the McKeon Road Fire Station. The ceremony is closed to the public because of the coronavirus pandemic, but people can watch online at worcesterma.gov/video-on-demand or on Worcester Government Channel 192.

Tenants told investigators that the blaze appeared to have started in a heater on the second floor. When firefighters got to the scene, they saw heavy fire coming out a second-floor window, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in Worcester District Court. There were initially reports that a mother and baby were trapped in the building, but the mother and child got out before firefighters went in, officials later said.

Menard, 39, joined the department in 2010 and was promoted to lieutenant on Oct. 9, 2018. He was assigned to Ladder 5, Group 2 at the McKeon Road Fire Station.

He was supposed to finish work on the day of the fire and head to Disney with his high school sweetheart, Tina, and their three children.

December, and now November, has historically been a difficult month for the Worcester Fire Department.

Menard was killed weeks before the 20th anniversary of the Dec. 3, 1999, Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Fire, which claimed the lives of six firefighters became known as the “Worcester 6.” It was also just weeks before the first anniversary of the Dec. 9, 2018, death of Firefighter Christopher Roy, who was killed battling a blaze on Lowell Street.

In July 2019, Lt. John Kennedy died several days after fighting a fire. And in 2011, Firefighter Jon D. Davies Sr. died on Dec. 8, while battling flames inside an Arlington Street three-decker.

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