Staff report
Salisbury firefighters Victor Isler and Justin Monroe died from heat exposure and carbon monoxide poisoning secondary to a structural fire, according to preliminary autopsy information released Tuesday by the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s office.
It will probably be three to four months before full autopsy reports are available.
Also this week, a Rowan County judge ordered 911 and radio recordings related to the Friday morning fire sealed until Tuesday.
Monroe, 19, and Isler, 40, died Friday battling a fire at Salisbury Millwork.
Monroe was a part-time firefighter in Salisbury and Spencer, as well as a volunteer at Miller’s Ferry Fire Department. Isler was a former EMT from New York whose first firefighting job was in Salisbury.
“They evidently ran out of air,” said John Morrison, president of the Rowan Fire and Rescue Association, referring to the finding of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Morrison said the air packs that firefighters wear typically hold a 30-minute supply, but it depends on conditions.
“We’ve had guys in training, crawling underneath smoke who empty their tank in 20 minutes,” he said.
“If you run out of air, you would pull your mask off and try to get as low as possible and try to get good air,” Morrison said.
Morrison said a firefighter pulling off his mask to get air is a “last resort.”
“That’s a terrible situation to be in … a situation I can’t imagine,” he said.
He added that there is also a possibility that the heat could have been intense enough to melt or break the seal on the mask the firefighters wear, allowing carbon monoxide to leak in.
Records sealed
On Monday, Rowan County Superior Judge Chris Collier ordered 911 and radio recordings from the day of the Salisbury Millwork fire sealed until next week.
Several law enforcement agencies and news organizations, including the Salisbury Post, have requested copies of calls logged related to the fire.
Rowan County District Attorney Bill Kenerly filed a motion to seal the records at the request of investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in conjunction with the State Bureau of Investigation and Salisbury Police and Salisbury Fire departments. Kenerly said this is the first time he’s ever asked a judge to seal 911 recordings.
According to the order, investigators have reviewed the calls and believe releasing the information will undermine the ongoing probe because:
– Each call identifies the caller or may contain information that will identify the caller and may contain information that will identify other potential witnesses.
“Law enforcement officers need to identify and interview both callers and other identifiable witnesses before such persons are publicly identified,” the order said.
– The recorded communication created an accurate timeline of the events.
Investigators are working to develop additional elements of the timeline to aid in determining the cause and origin of the fire, the order said, and “Public disclosure of the timeline created by these communications may influence the recollections of witnesses yet to be interviewed, thus compromising the investigation.”
The court order goes on to say that in the event investigators determine the cause of the fire to be arson, public disclosure of witness observations would likely alert any potential suspect, thus undermining the investigation.
The recordings can be released Tuesday at 10 a.m., the order says, providing sufficient time for law enforcement to complete its investigation.
The cause of the fire is undetermined and the investigation continues.