WORCESTER (CBS) – The family of a fallen Worcester firefighter is outraged. Timothy Jackson died in the massive Cold Storage Warehouse fire in 1999. His family received commendations for his bravery, but a thief broke into their home and stole the medals the family cherished.

The past couple of days of been a struggle for Tim Jackson Jr. “It’s personal I don’t really know how to describe it,” Jackson told WBZ-TV.

It’s been almost 14 years since his dad and five other firefighters died in the now infamous blaze. When burglars hit Tim’s Swan Avenue home on Wednesday, the family felt the loss all over again.

“It’s just the gut feeling in the pit of your stomach of emptiness now,” said Christina Jackson, the firefighter’s granddaughter.

The burglars kicked in the door of the master bedroom and found a small safe underneath the bed. The safe, which the thieves took, contained Jackson’s badge, mementos given to the family by mourners and medals from his service in Vietnam and more.

“I don’t think they know exactly what they have,” said Tim Jr. “It means a lot to me.”

The family doesn’t care about the laptop or XBox that were stolen, but they hope that the medals will turn up somewhere, no questions asked.

The 1999 fire was caused by a homeless couple trying to stay warm. Inside the stolen safe was also a heartfelt letter of apology from one of their families.

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