By Clay Barbour and Sharif Durhams
The Charlotte Observer
Copyright 2008 The Charlotte Observer
 Photo courtesy of Salisbury Fire Department Firefighter Victor Isler |
SALISBURY, N.C. — Victor Isler worked for years as an emergency medical technician in New York and was among the first to help at ground zero.
But it wasn’t until the 40-year-old moved to North Carolina that he fulfilled his dream of being a full-time firefighter.
On Friday the Salisbury Fire Department lost the second oldest rookie it ever hired.
Isler and fellow crew member Justin Monroe, 19, died fighting a five-alarm blaze at Salisbury Millwork, a nearly 80,000-square-foot commercial woodworking facility.
Colleagues of the men gathered at the city firehouse to remember them Saturday. Not far from the station, smoke still rose from the husk of the main building. State and federal investigators crawled through the building’s remains to try to understand what happened.
Chris Haynes, a captain at the Faith Volunteer Fire Department and Salisbury firefighter, said Isler treated the younger men like family. He would ask about their wives and children.
“He took care of us. He was like a father to us,” Haynes said. “If you were having a bad day, you weren’t going to have a bad day for long. He would cheer you up.”
Greg Shue, the former chief of Millers Ferry Volunteer Fire Department, remembered Monroe as a dedicated firefighter and a relentless jokester.
“He was very happy. You could tell it in his eyes,” Shue said. “He would always make our fire department a better place to go, a better place to be.”
Probe under way
Arson investigation vehicles from the State Bureau of Investigation and a large mobile unit from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were parked at the scene Saturday.David Linker, Locke Fire Department assistant chief, said investigators interviewed four of his firefighters, trying to determine the cause and origin of the fire.
A company official said a fire first reported around 7 a.m. Friday morning appeared contained to the showroom of the 61-year-old company. But the fire quickly spread and engulfed the building.
City officials did not release additional details about previous fire inspections of the facility Saturday.
Salisbury fire Chief Robert Parnell did not answer when asked about the circumstances surrounding the firefighters’ deaths. Parnell released a statement that said the department was focused “on family and facts.”
The statement said the Fire Department was turning over all pertinent records to investigating agencies, and that doing so was standard procedure in such cases. The statement said that information would be made public at an appropriate time.
ATF spokesman Earl Woodham said the investigative team also responded to a June furniture warehouse fire in Charleston that killed nine firefighters. He said federal investigators joined the fire probe because the Salisbury Fire Department asked for help and because of the scope of the fire. Woodham said arson investigators are commonly called upon to determine the cause and origin of fires.
Isler a native New Yorker
On Friday, Monroe was remembered as a brave, outgoing young man who became a junior firefighter at age 14.
A day later, Isler’s story emerged as his family gathered at his Harrisburg home in Cabarrus County.
Isler was born in Oceanside, N.Y. He lived most of his life on Long Island.
Isler decided later in life that he wanted to be a firefighter. Applicants for the New York City Firefighter Exam can’t be older than 29.
So Isler, who worked as a volunteer firefighter with the Deer Park Fire Department in New York, moved to North Carolina and joined the Salisbury Fire Department.
He is survived by wife Tracy, son Victor, 15, and daughter Ryan-Anne, 13.
“In his life it was his children, his wife and being a firefighter,” said Leah Hartofelis, Isler’s sister-in-law.
Hartofelis said Isler chose the area because one of his childhood friends lived here -- and because he loved NASCAR. Kevin Harvick was his favorite.
Hartofelis said Isler was an unselfish man.
“He was the sweetest man in the world,” she said. “And the biggest clown, too. We all miss him.”
A plaque from New York’s Fire Department hung on the wall. Isler’s New York Yankees cap lay atop a stairway railing.