Remembering Peabody's James Rice

Peabody firefighter James Rice died one year ago today, battling a three-alarm fire at 5 Hancock St.

One year ago today on Dec. 23, 2011, Peabody firefighter James Rice paid the ultimate price on the job, and for that he will forever be a hero. Just two days before Christmas last year, Rice, an 11-year veteran of the Peabody Fire Department, died battling a three-alarm fire at a multi-family home at 5 Hancock St. He was 42 and left behind his wife Amy and three young children: Alyssa, Katelyn and Ryan. In the months since Peabody was rocked by the tragedy -- the first time a firefighter was killed like that in the line of duty -- the city has grieved and rallied around his family and fellow firefighters in countless ways. Rice is remembered as a true hero, both at home and by those who only knew of his story. Fire Chief Steven Pasdon says…

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New Police and Fire Memorial Slated for Perkins Street Open Space

The open space plot on Perkins Street where the old Parks and Rec building stands is slated to become a new memorial and garden in tribute to Peabody police officers and firefighters.

Mayor Ted Bettencourt, joined by city councilor Bob Driscoll, Fire Chief Steven Pasdon and several Peabody police officers and firefighters, announced Wednesday that the city will be creating a special memorial and garden to honor all of Peabody's public safety officers past, present and future. "As we approach the first anniversary of the passing of Jim Rice, we are again reminded that the men and women who serve as firefighters and police officers are worthy of great respect and lasting gratitude," said Bettencourt. "Each day these brave public servants go about their work knowing that the next 911 call or the next fire alarm could put their own lives or the lives of their fellow officers and firefighters in jeopardy," he said. "[The …

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Peabody Firefighters Honored for Heroic Acts in Line of Duty

Peabody firefighters Jim Rice, Eric Harrison, Dale Kimball, Paul Rheaume, Steve Pellegrini and Paul LaPlante were honored at the 2012 Firefighter of the Year Awards. Rice and Worcester's Jon Davies were posthumously given the Medal of Honor. Both men died

Nearly one year ago, Peabody firefighter James Rice paid the ultimate price on the job, and for that he will forever be a hero. Just two days before Christmas last year, Rice, an 11-year veteran of the department, was one of the first crews to the scene of a three-alarm fire at a multi-family home at 5 Hancock St. With smoke showing from the second floor of the building, Rice was one of the firefighters charged with carrying hose lines to all three floors and searching for any occupants inside. Heavy smoke and flames forced firefighters out of the building, but Rice became trapped inside and collapsed between the first and second floors. He was located inside an apartment by another officer and carried outside. Rice was rushed to Salem …

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Rice and 5 Others to Receive Firefighter of the Year Awards

The late Jim Rice and five other veteran Peabody firefighters will receive special honors at a ceremony Dec. 18.

Six veteran Peabody firefighters will receive a special honor next week at a ceremony out in Worcester -- they will be named Firefighters of the Year. Those six firefighters are Deputy Chief Eric Harrison, Capt. Dale Kimball and Paul Rheaume, Paul LaPlante, Stephen Pellegrini and posthumously James Rice. Peabody Fire Chief Steven Pasdon says he nominated Kimball, Rheaume, LaPlante and Pellegrini this summer for their heroic save of a Peabody teen from a fiery car wreck last December. Rice, of course, is honored for making the ultimate sacrifice at a three-alarm house fire two days before Christmas, and it was Harrison who actually pulled Rice from the building and tried to save his life. The award is bestowed by the Massachusetts Executive…

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Rice Remembered for Lasting Legacy, Service From One Brotherhood to Another [PHOTOS]

Fallen Peabody firefighter James Rice, a 1987 graduate of St. John's Prep, was honored with an engraved monument at SJP just outside the left field fence of the baseball field.

The warm, bright sunshine held no indication of the hurricane coming, but it did serve as a perfect setting for the celebration of one's man life that took place Saturday afternoon at St. John's Prep. Friends, family, school officials and the Eagles' football team unveiled a new memorial dedicated to Peabody firefighter James Rice, who died in the line of duty last December. He was a 1987 graduate of the Prep. "Twenty-five years ago many of us were classmates with Jimmy Rice and we're all better for it," said classmate and football teammate Steve MacDonald, a Danvers police officer. MacDonald led the effort to organize the tribute to Rice. The stone memorial sits at the entrance to Brother Linus, CFX Athletic Commons next to the flagpole, …

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SJP Class of '87 to Pay Tribute to Peabody's Jim Rice

Peabody firefighter Jim Rice's classmates at St. John's Prep will be holding a memorial service Saturday.

Fallen Peabody firefighter James Rice will be remembered by his former classmates at St. John's Prep on Saturday. Rice, who died last December in the line of duty, graduated from the Prep in 1987, along with fellow Peabody firefighter (now Captain) John Hosman and Danvers police officer Steven MacDonald, who organized Saturday's memorial service. The ceremony, which is slated for noon at the entrance to the Brother Linus, CFX Athletic Commons, will also include the dedication of a memorial stone engraved with Rice's name. The school expects about 40 of Rice's classmates, familiy and friends to attend. Once the service and a reception in Griffin Hall are concluded, the St. John's Eagles will host Catholic Memorial on the gridiron. While at …

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What's in a Diminuous Change?

The owner of the multi-family home at 5 Hancock St., which was destroyed by a deadly fire last December, wants to rebuild, but there's debate on whether the new house can be two stories or three.

Ten months now after the three-alarm fire at 5 Hancock St. that led to the death of Peabody firefighter James Rice, the lot where the multi-family home once stood is just empty space. The home was severely damaged in the fire and eventually torn down about two months afterward once a full investigation into the fire was completed. Owner Kenneth Louf is hoping to rebuild the home on the same footprint and recover his losses, but Louf now needs zoning relief from the city because the neighborhood is only zoned for two-family structures, which would normally house four units, not six. Under most circumstances, state law allows a building destroyed by fire to be rebuilt on the same footprint even if the size of the structure is out of …

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PHOTOS: Over 100 Ride for Rice

More than 100 motorcycles and riders wound their way through Peabody, Lynnfield, Middleton and Danvers and back to the IACC on Blaney Street in a show of respect for fallen Peabody firefighter Jim Rice.

On Saturday, more than 100 motorcycles embarked from Fire Headquarters on an hour-long ride through neighboring towns in memory of fallen Peabody firefighter James Rice. Rice died battling a three-alarm fire on Dec. 23, 2011. Ricey's Run, which was organized by the Fire & Iron Firefighters Motorcycle Club and the Italian-American Citizen's Club, was yet one more way for the community to pay tribute to Rice and continue to support his family. The ride was followed by activities at the IACC, including fun, food, a DJ and raffles. All proceeds from the fundraiser benefited the James Rice Memorial Fund, which was created in the wake of the tragedy to aid Rice's wife and three children. "On this day many lives were changed forever. This loss of…

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VIDEO: Fallen Firefighters Rice, Davies Honored at State House

Peabody firefighter Jim Rice and Worcester firefighter Jon Davies both died in the line of duty in December. The two men were honored again Tuesday, along with 20 other Bay State firefighters who have died recently.

Gov. Deval Patrick presided over Tuesday evening's annual ceremony commemorating Massachusetts firefighters who have died and the 343 New York City firefighters who were killed on Sept. 11, 2001. "We add 22 names to the Ring of Honor today, among them two who lost their lives on the line of duty: John Davies Sr. of the Worcester Fire Department and James Rice of the Peabody Fire Department," Patrick said at the Massachusetts Fallen Firefighters Memorial on the State House grounds. Both men died within two weeks of each other in December 2011. Editor's Note: This video was shot by Stephen Walsh, the son of Joseph Walsh of Brookline, one of the firefighters honored this year. The portion of the ceremony on Davies and Rice begins at …

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'Tremendous Courage' in the Face of Tragic Losses

A ceremony was held Tuesday morning outside Fire Headquarters to mark the 11th anniversary of 9/11.

The rumbling noises of mid-morning traffic headed up and down Lowell Street came to a halt for about 20 minutes Tuesday so as not to disrupt the the somber scene in front of Fire Headquarters. The Fire Department gathered along with Mayor Ted Bettencourt, several members of the Police Department, City Hall employees and several residents to remember the 11th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Bettencourt spoke briefly about the "tremendous" loss felt across the nation that day, and at home in Peabody as family and friends learned three of Peabody's own were lost as well. Peabody native Christine Barbuto, N. Janis Lasden and Donald DiTullio all perished aboard American Airlines Flight 11 at the Twin Towers. Bettencourt …

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