On December 3 , 1999 , six firefighters from Leary 's hometown of Worcester were killed in the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire . Among the dead were Leary 's cousin Jerry Lucey and his close childhood friend Lt. Tommy Spencer . In response , the comedian founded the Leary Firefighters Foundation . Since its creation in the year 2000 , the foundation has distributed over $ 2.5 million ( USD ) to fire departments in the Worcester , Boston , and New York City areas for equipment , training materials , new vehicles , and new facilities . Leary won $ 125,000 for the foundation on the game show '' Who Wants to Be a Millionaire '' . Leary has close ties with 107.3 / WAAF , which in 2000 released the station album '' Survive This ! '' Part of the proceeds from this album were donated to the Leary Firefighters Foundation . A separate fund run by Leary 's foundation , the Fund for New York 's Bravest , has distributed over $ 2 million to the families of the 343 firemen killed in the September 11 attacks in 2001 in addition to providing funding for necessities such as a new mobile command center , first responder training , and a high-rise simulator for the New York City Fire Department 's training campus . As the foundation 's president , Leary has been active in all of the fundraising . In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans , Leary donated over a dozen boats to the New Orleans Fire Department to aid in rescue efforts in future disasters . The foundation also rebuilt entire NOLA firehouses
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Denis Leary