By Shavonne Potts
Salisbury Post
Local officials are planning for thousands of people to attend a Thursday funeral service for Salisbury firefighters Victor Isler and Justin Monroe.
Salisbury Police Department officials met Tuesday afternoon with representatives of other agencies to coordinate parking and a shuttle service to the joint funeral, which will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday in the Omwake-Dearborn Chapel at Catawba College.
A post-service motorcade will travel to Rowan Memorial Park for burial.
Isler, 40, and Monroe, 19, died Friday morning fighting a fire at Salisbury Millwork.
Firefighters, friends and supporters, from across the country are expected to attend the service. Parking around the chapel and Keppel Auditorium will be reserved for family members and the motorcade, officials said.
The chapel holds about 1,200 people. Overflow seating will be in Keppel Auditorium, which seats about 1,600 people, and in Catawba’s Crystal Lounge and the Hedrick Little Theatre, with a combined 500 seats.
Firefighters in large trucks expected to attend will be parked along Hogan’s Valley Way, off West Innes Street, and taken by shuttle to the chapel.
The Rowan County and Salisbury public transportation systems will provide shuttles to and from the funeral.
The shuttles will begin running at noon, officials said.
Off-site parking, with shuttle service to the funeral, will be provided at the following locations:
– Food Lion at 123 Mahaley Ave., near the Ketner Center, 250-300 spaces.
– Towne Pharmacy, 1408 W. Innes St., 75-100 spaces.
– Milford Hills Baptist Church, 1238 E. Colonial Drive, 100 spaces.
– Salisbury Mall, 1935 W. Jake Alexander Blvd., 500 spaces.
– Rex TV, 2045 Statesville Blvd., 50 spaces.
Officials want people attending the funeral to go to the lots in that order. Once the first lot fills up, parking attendants will move on to the next.
Handicapped spaces will be provided.
Those parking at off-site lots will be taken by shuttle to the corner of Lantz Avenue and West Innes Street. Following the service, those people should wait to be picked up at the corner of Lantz Avenue and West Innes Street, and from there they will be taken back to their respective parking lots.
Orange cones will mark areas for transit shuttle pickup. Police officers and other volunteers will also assist in the process.
Detours will be posted at the intersections of North Jake Alexander Boulevard and Innes Street and at West Innes Street and Statesville Boulevard.
Contact Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253 or spotts@salisburypost.com.