In Gloucester City, New Jersey, special remembrances will recall the fatal fire on July 4, 2002 that took the lives of three young sisters and three devoted firefighters.
The fire, the victims and the aftermath gained national headlines and the loss has been deeply felt in the community and beyond.
Tuesday evening Gloucester City marks the 10th anniversary of the tragedy at its annual holiday parade at 6 p.m. On the Fourth of July, a Blue Mass is scheduled at St. Mary’s Church at Atlantic and Monmouth Streets at 8am.
Ten years ago, flames engulfed a three-story duplex on North Broadway after midnight on July 4th. Five-year-old Alexandra and three-year-old twins Collette and Claudia Slack were asleep on the second floor. The building collapsed, trapping the sisters and eight firefighters inside.
The sisters, along with James Sylvester, John West and Thomas “Tommy” Stewart III from the Mount Ephraim and Gloucester City Fire Departments, all perished in the fire.
Firefighters from both departments will be part of each town’s Fourth of July events this year.
