I mean the fire was really something. It’s hard even explaining what it was like to people who weren’t here then. I feel like everyone was kind of connected to that in some way, you know. One of the families grew up around the corner from us so we went to grammar school with them. I mean it was pretty significant. I can’t think of anything on that same level. So it was [December 3, 1999] I believe and it was at night. I was at home, but my younger sister was at the Auburn Mall with her friends. And my mom had, was driving out to pick her up kind of at the beginning of all of this before they started shutting down the streets. On their way home they were redirected, they had to go a different way but on her way out to the Auburn Mall she took [Route] 290 like how you would just normally go to get out to the Auburn Mall. And she said that the heat coming off of that building, even on the far side of 290, she said it was so hot coming in the side of her car that she thought the window would burst. And at that time we, no one, I mean it wasn’t quite on the news it was kind of like, “Oh there’s a fire in Worcester.” You know, those kind of stories are on the news all the time, no one was really thinking anything of it. But I mean, parts of 290 and roads were closed for weeks. It was really massive. I mean the building that came down was…I mean it was huge. And it’s weird kind of now to think about like now I just drive by. I mean I drive on that road every day. I drive on 290 every day to get to work. But it’s funny to think, “Oh my God, for half of my life I drove by a building that just doesn’t exist anymore and took six people’s lives and changed their families’ lives forever.” You know, I mean that’s pretty significant.
Lynn Cody was born in 1983 in the Burncoat neighborhood of Worcester, MA. She has resided in Worcester for the majority of her life, with the exception of the four years in which she attended Stonehill College in Easton, MA. She currently is head of dining services and social media at the College of the Holy Cross and is married to husband Ryan Cody. Living in the city of Worcester has played a significant role in shaping her as a woman and has caused her to feel a certain bond to her city. This bond is what led her and a fellow student to enter into a contest to present why Worcester is such a great city. The two of them won first prize and gained recognition for their city as an All American City. This contest was around the time of the Worcester Cold Storage Fire on December 3, 1999, which Lynn remembers vividly, and says had an impact on all of the inhabitants of the Worcester area including her mother. She also recalls being on the first women’s golf team in high school. Her family lives in the same area as she and her husband and they have played a major role in the development of Lynn’s identity. Having traveled to a variety of places around the world, Lynn is a strong believer that one’s identity is shaped by their community and the area in which they live.