3000 Degrees

The True Story of a Deadly Fire and the Men Who Fought It

By: Sean Flynn

Narrated by: Richard Rohan

Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

On December 3, 1999, the call crackled in to the men of the Worchester, Massachusetts Fire Department: a three-alarm warehouse blaze in a six-story windowless colossus of brick and mortar.

Firefighters love the excitement of a "triple." But this was a different beast. Rollovers, flashovers, backdrafts, this one had it all. Once inside, they found themselves trapped in a snarling furnace of blazing orange heat as hot as a crematorium, with smoke so black and predatory they had to feel for their partners next to them. Swallowed deep in the building, with no way out, they struggled to survive an ill-fated ordeal that would push them to the very limits of loyalty and courage.

What happened next - and how their lives and community were changed forever - offers an unprecedented look at these heroic men whose job it is to rush into burning buildings when everyone else just wants out.

©2002 Sean Flynn (P)2002 Listen & Live Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Nonfiction (Unabridged) 2003

"[Among] books appearing this year about fires and firefighting...the best of the lot is Sean Flynn's 3000 Degrees." (Newsweek)
"Gripping prose...With confident, deft description, Flynn brings to life this 3000-degree catastrophe with a crackling intensity." (Publishers Weekly)
"A miracle of reporting...This story has the emotional power of the best narrative art." (American Society of Magazine Editors

An excellent book

Flynn does an excellent job at capturing the humanity of the men who fought and died at the tragic event.

3000 Degrees

I have worked in Downtown Worcester in Main Street, right around the corner from Central Street, and the Central Street Fire Station. We knew every call the Central Street Station went out on a call, as many times they would come screaming by our office building. On December3, 1999, I had worked late, and just happened to be driving by the Central Street Station as the engines were preparing to leave responding to the Worcester Cold Storage fire. The doors had gone up, and the red done lights on the engines were flashing, they were about to come out. I hurried by, trying to make sure I was out of their way. I got on I290 headed toward home in Holden. By the time I had driven the 7 miles home, arriving 20 minutes later, the sky had a red-orange glow, looking back toward Worcester. Having lived through this tragedy and the week after, I have always wondered exactly what happened. The story is very honest and well told. I highly recommend the audio book, the reader is excellent, and it keeps your attention throughout the book. I love the way the story gives the personal stories of each of the 6 men and their families. I had always wondered what really happened inside that building, and this book gives a very honest account, which is what I was looking for. I highly recommend this audio book, very well read!

Enjoyed this book

Was a good listen. I have listened to it twice so far as to not miss a thing about the whole story.

Excellent read & listen

This is a wrenching, detailed account of the fire in which six Worcester firefighters lost their lives. The deceased firefighters, their families and their colleagues are shown as full, breathing human beings caught in a tragedy beyond their control. I do agree that the fake Boston accent is a little distracting, but the book is too good to be badly affected by that. I highly recommend this book.

Cultural Accuracy

3000 degrees made a very niche culture an open book. The performance was captivating, with sound effects and raw sounding emotion. There is a lot of emotion, sadness to humor and back around again. Great story, totally worth the listening time and the purchase.

Truth and emotion

This was the first big fire I remember. I started in the fire service in November of 1999. My Chief made us watch the funeral. I have read this book more than once. The audio book brings it to life. I appreciate the raw telling of each story, each life. One of the things that strikes me is the portion near the end where they talk about a department struggling for people and equipment and that same department 24 hours later having money thrown at them. It is a lesson that needs to be learned before a tragedy. This will make you laugh and cry, but the hope is, it makes you learn.

a fireman gut check

I've had my fair share of close calls but this book actually makes me think twice about my job. It's told in such a way, that you really get to know the men and their families. I highly recommend this book.

Riveting

This story was a detailed, interesting, and engaging account of the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse Fire of 1999. There were a few jarring transitions from chapter to chapter, done to keep the reader interested, but were more confusing than they were necessary. I was already fascinated by the story, and didn't need the story to suddenly jump ahead into action to keep me that way.
However, overall, this book is superb. May God Bless and watch over all our fireman, first responders, and their families.

Good narrator

Sad and true account a must listen to all Firefighters, and good advice, hits close to home

Chapters out of order

I read this book every December, so I’m familiar with the timeline of events. The chapters involving the fire are out of order which throws off the sequence of events in the story. Other than that it’s a great book.