There was a sign at the Boothbay Fire Department, where the flag flew at half mast, which said, "Worcester, Mass. Six, Our Prayers." Flags in Wiscasset, Woolwich, and Boothbay Harbor were lowered.

Two firefighters entered a burning warehouse last week because they believed homeless people might have been inside. When they radioed back that they were out of air and in trouble, four other firefighters went in for them.

All six died, and there were no homeless people in the building. Some 17 children were reportedly left fatherless.

At the Woolwich selectmen's meeting Monday, Fire Chief Wayne Saunders told the board that a fire department business meeting scheduled for Thursday would be postponed because some of the men planned to go to Worcester that day to attend a memorial service.

Saunders said Tuesday that he would go, as well as Arthur Brawn, Phil Skillin, Geoffrey McCarren, and Glen Kirkpatrick. He said others may join them. They expected to make the trip with a contingent from the Bath Fire Department.

Rusty Robertson, the fire chief from Westport, and Edgecomb Fire Chief Barry Johnston said they knew of no one going from their departments, as of Tuesday afternoon. Johnston said he posted information at the Central Lincoln County fire department in Damariscotta about a bus that was leaving from South Portland, in case any of his men wanted to go.

Boothbay Harbor Fire Chief Arthur Richardson said he was planning to go to the service Thursday, but that prior commitments might prevent him. He said Al Hitt and Robert Spofford would probably make the trip and there might be others after the Tuesday night department meeting.

Boothbay Fire Chief Tom Nickerson, who said Tuesday he would try to go, planned to ask at the department's Tuesday night meeting that others do the same.

Wiscasset Fire Chief Tim Merry said some people in his department had talked about attending Thursday's service, but he didn't know who had made definite plans. When the effort to collect memorial contributions is organized, Merry said, "We will do something."

It does not come as a surprise to those who are trained to put out fires that the four Massachusetts men went into a burning warehouse when they knew their colleagues were in trouble.

The Wiscasset firefighters would do the same, said assistant chief Bob MacDonald. It is part of their training to know how to help each other out. "We would do everything humanly possible if someone is down," he said. "We have a rule, that for as many folks that are inside, there are that many ready on the outside, two in and two out, ready to go in if they have trouble."

The potential life threatening risk that goes with the job, and the teamwork that is essential to minimize the risk, work to create a bond among firefighters that goes beyond the local community. The bond exists without personal acquaintance.

"We're all pretty close," MacDonald said. "On Sunday a firefighter from Lawrence (Mass.) stopped by. We collect patches and we talked about that (the deaths of the firefighters).

"When a Lincoln County group goes to the fire academy in New York, they put on a big breakfast for us and they never ask anything. We enjoy their hospitality, and we invite them here, for a lobster bake or something," MacDonald said Tuesday.

"Maybe it is because we all have the goal of helping people," he said. "We all have to depend on each other an awfully lot."