The widows of four Worcester firefighters killed in a 1999 warehouse fire have reached a $1 million out-of-court settlement with property owner Ding On "Tony" Kwan of Framingham, a source said.

Widows Mary Louise Jackson, Kathleen Spencer, Michelle Lucey and Denise Brotherton dropped their multimillion dollar lawsuit against Kwan and signed an agreement in late October giving them $250,000 each, according to the source.

Kwan owns the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse where six firefighters perished four years ago today, Dec. 3, 1999.

Kwan confirmed the widows' lawsuit has been settled but declined to discuss any conditions.

"The lawsuit is over. I can't give any details," he said. "I have signed a confidentiality agreement and cannot say anything about it."

Phone calls to attorneys Amy Wanger of Winchester and Keith T. Higgins of Worcester, who represent Jackson, Spencer and Lucey, were not returned. A phone call to attorney Stephen Lipman of Boston, who represents Brotherton, also was not returned by presstime.

Denise Brotherton, whose husband firefighter Paul A. Brotherton, died in the Worcester blaze, declined to comment on the lawsuit. Contacted at her home last night, she said she had just returned from the wake of Lancaster firefighter Martin McNamara, who, like her husband, left a widow and children when he died last weekend in a house fire.

The settlement comes four years after the six men died in an inferno started by a homeless couple who were squatters in the vacant warehouse.

Fire Lts. Thomas E. Spencer and James F. Lyons and firefighters Brotherton, Timothy P. Jackson, Jeremiah M. Lucey and Joseph T. McGuirk died in the smoke-filled five story building located near Rte. 290 and Union Station.

Kwan's $1 million package to the widows includes $900,000 the city of Worcester is expected to pay him for an eminent domain taking of the Franklin Street lot and $100,000 from his own pocket, the source said.

The families of Lyons and McGuirk each accepted $166,667 from Kwan in 2002 and were not part of the current lawsuit.

Kwan said he is still haunted by the deaths of the six firefighters.

"They've always been heroes to me. Anyone who faces danger like they did and sacrifices their lives deserves our respect. I still pray for them and their families every day," he said.

The firefighters died after entering the 100,000-square-foot building looking for homeless people. The firefighters soon became lost in the heavy smoke from the fire.