PAUL PELUSO
Firehouse.Com News

Courtesy of David Watson

SALISBURY, N.C. -- Funeral services will take place on Thursday, March 13 for two Salisbury firefighters who where killed while battling a lumber yard blaze last week.

Firefighters Victor Isler, 40, and Justin Monroe, 19, were part of the hose team that was first to respond to the morning blaze on March 7.

The services will be held at 2 p.m. at the Dearborne Chapel at Catawba College, 2300 West Innes Street, Salisbury, N.C. The building houses an auditorium that seats approximately 4,000 people.

Information for firefighters planning to attend the funeral procession will be provided as it becomes available.

Visitation for Firefighter Isler will be held Wednesday, March 12 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Lyerly Funeral Home, 515 S. Main Street, Salisbury, N.C.

Following Thursday's services, Isler's body will be transported back to his home state of New York for burial.

Visitation for Firefighter Monroe will be held Wednesday, March 12 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Miller's Ferry Volunteer Fire Department, 2650 Long Ferry Road, Salisbury, N.C.

Monroe was a member of Miller's Ferry since he joined the junior firefighters program at the age of 14.

Burial will follow at Rowan Memorial Park, 4125 Franklin Center Community Drive, Salisbury, N.C.

A procession from Charlotte to Salisbury was planned for Monday, March 10, transporting the bodies of the fallen firefighters to the city following autopsies at the Carolinas Medical Center where they were taken on Saturday afternoon.

The escort is to leave Charlotte at 3 p.m. and is expected to arrive in Salisbury at approximately 4 p.m. The procession will travel northbound on I-85 to Miller's Ferry, it will then travel southbound to Salisbury Fire Station one and will continue on to Lyerly Funeral Home.

Following the deaths of Isler and Monroe the local LAST team, the grief counseling arm of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, has assisted the families in making the arrangements.

"No one line of duty death is the same and every time we respond, there are so many dynamics to it," North Carolina Coordinator for LAST Derick Clouston said. "What we want to do is find out what the family wants. We take the families wishes and try to do that."

Clouston's team also worked alongside the North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the North Carolina State Firefighters Association to help the families with the arrangements.

Besides the funeral arrangements, LAST also assisted with applying for PSOB and state benefits along with any other available grants that would help the family. The team also contacts agencies such as USFA and NIOSH.

"We make sure the families are taken care of and know that someone is looking after them and knows what they need to get done," Clouston said.

Memorial funds for the families of Firefighers Monroe and Isler have been setup at the Salisbury and Harrisburg locations of the Bank of North Carolina:

Salisbury
415 Jake Alexander Blvd W
Salisbury, NC 28147
Phone: (704) 633-3436
Fax: (704) 647-0951

Harrisburg
3890 Main Street
Harrisburg, NC 28075
Phone: (704) 455-1070
Fax: (704) 455-1260

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