Fire Chief Bob Parnell and Mayor Susan Kluttz maintained their composure Friday afternoon as they faced the glaring lights of the media. The stricken look on their faces, though, said the city officials were anything but calm. They were grieving the death of two firefighters in what may be the worst fire in city history, the burning inferno that Salisbury Millwork became Friday morning.
Two brave men ó Victor A. Isler and Justin E. Monroe ó lost their lives in service to the people of Salisbury. It’s a debt the city can never repay.
Firefighters don’t know when they respond to a call whether it will be a false alarm or a fire that bellows and burns for hours. They probably don’t consider that it may be their last fire. They go regardless because firefighting is their job ó and their passion.
While the families of Isler and Monroe are now foremost in everyone’s concerns, the family that all firefighters form is deeply hurt, also. Two have died, and several firefighting brethren suffered burns and injuries trying to rescue them. Everyone who’s ever been a firefighter is feeling their intense pain.
It is not clear yet how this all happened. The spread of the fire from a basement and office area to the mill’s main building came suddenly and unexpectedly. Firefighters say they heard three explosions.
Parnell pledged a thorough investigation, calling in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the State Bureau of Investigation, in addition to Salisbury Police and the fire marshal. Investigators will search for not only the fire’s origin but also exactly what chain of events caught these well-trained and respected firefighters in an inescapable situation. Such post mortems are painful; it doesn’t seem fair to second-guess or scrutinize the work of fire professionals who put their lives on the line every day. But lessons emerge from every tragedy, and Salisbury must try to wring sufficient knowledge from this one to prevent ever suffering such a loss again.
Overshadowed by all this is the devastation of Salisbury Millwork, which has provided millwork and lumber to this area for decades. At one point when the fire seemed to be contained, the burning of all the company’s records and office contents seemed like a huge loss, and it was. But then the fire mushroomed, and the situation got much, much worse.
Two excellent firefighters ó “our friends, our brothers, our buddies,” Parnell said ó died. Even reporters accustomed to dealing with tragedy let out a small gasp when Parnell gave Monroe’s age ó 19.
Certainly this is the worst moment the family of any firefighter can face. The city mourns with the Isler and Monroe families and with all firefighters who also feel this loss so personally. There will be tributes and memorials. As the mayor said, the city will begin the healing process. But Salisbury will forever bear the scar of this day.