Homeless Pair Charged in Deaths of 6 Firefighters

WORCESTER, Mass. —  A homeless couple who allegedly knocked over a candle during an argument were charged with involuntary manslaughter Tuesday in connection with the warehouse blaze that killed six firefighters.

Thomas S. Levesque, 37, and Julie S. Barnes, 19, had been living together on the second floor of the abandoned warehouse for several months, Dist. Atty. John J. Conte said.

The Friday night fire ignited clothing and papers, Conte said. The couple tried to extinguish the fire and rescue their dog and cat before they fled, but they made no attempt to report the fire, Conte said.

Two firefighters went into the building after reports that squatters had been living there. When the firefighters became lost in thick smoke and radioed “Mayday! Mayday!” four other firefighters tried to find them. All six died.

Levesque and Barnes were arraigned on six counts each of involuntary manslaughter and ordered held on $1-million bail. Manslaughter carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

Nicole Witherbee, policy coordinator for the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, said the couple didn’t intend to hurt anyone and arresting them was wrong.

The warehouse fire was believed to be the nation’s deadliest blaze for firefighters since 1994, when 14 firefighters perished in a forest fire in Colorado.

Only one of the bodies has been found, and firefighters labored for a fourth day Tuesday to find the remains of the others in the ruins of the five-story brick warehouse.

Treacherous conditions, including persistent flames, thick smoke and collapsing walls, made the search dangerous and difficult.

President Clinton planned to attend a memorial service Thursday for the men.