News-Record.com

Tuesday's No. 2 editorial.

The grieving in Salisbury has just begun. Friday morning, two firefighters in the city of 25,000, about 40 miles southwest of Greensboro, died in a raging woodworking company fire.
Fire crews from across the state, including High Point, are volunteering at stations there while Salisbury firefighters come to grips with the tragedy.

The pain is an all too familiar one. They felt it in Charleston, which lost nine firefighters on June 18. They felt it in New York, at the World Trade Center. A "Mayday" call is the same anywhere, anytime.

In fact, New York City and Salisbury share an eerie connection. Victor Isler, who died as he fought flames inside Salisbury Millwork, had been a New York City paramedic and was among the first responders to the 2001 terrorist attacks. But at 40, he was too old to join the New York Fire Department, so he moved south to realize a lifelong dream of being a fireman.

Nineteen-year-old Justin Moore shared that dream. He died alongside Isler, manning a hose. Moore joined a Rowan County volunteer unit’s youth program at age 14 and was studying fire technology at a local community college.

He wanted no other career.

In time, there will be answers concerning the fire’s origins, how it was fought and what might have been done differently. Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, the State Bureau of Investigation, the state Fire Marshal’s Office and local agencies are just beginning to sift through the ashes.

The flames seemingly had been contained, then suddenly flared out of control, trapping firefighters inside. The presence of highly combustible sawdust may have been a factor.

But for now, a town will pause to share grief, comfort families and honor memories.