The ceremony starts at 1:00 p.m. The event will be preceded by a parade down Hillsborough and Dawson Streets at 10:00 a.m. The parade will consist of an honor guard and apparatus and members from the North Carolina fire departments that have experienced a line of duty death. For more information see www.ncfff.org.

Honored at this year’s memorial:

Eric D. Lacewell
Captain, 51
Wilmington FD 
11/4/14 
Died of complications of an injury received at the fire station in 2011. He was found on the kitchen floor, having fallen. He became a quadriplegic as a result of his injuries.

Bobby D. “Darren” Shew
Firefighter, 48
Roaring River FD 
5/18/17 
Died at Forsyth Medical Center from cancer. Shew’s death was the first firefighter cancer death to be ruled as a line-of-duty death by the North Carolina Industrial Commission.

William P. “Will” Willis
Engineer, 34
Asheville FD
2/17/18
Died at his home in Mars Hill from a rare form of kidney cancer. Willis’ death was the second to be ruled as duty-related by the state. See above.

Richard L. Sales
Fire Chief, 52
Reynolds VFD 
4/8/18
Died in a single-vehicle crash in Interstate 40, while traveling on fire department business. He was headed to Wilmington for a conference on safety, where he was going to accept an award on behalf of his department.

Romulus S. “Tony” Spencer III
Fire Chief, 51
Engelhard Fire & Rescue 
6/3/18 
Died of a heart attack, after participating in training the day before. He was stricken at his home on June 1, and died at Norfolk Medical Center on June 3.

Dakota R. Snavely
Firefighter, 17
East Side FD 
6/10/18 
Died in a vehicle collision, while responding to an emergency call. A truck lost part of its load in front of his personal vehicle, which caused him to crash. The truck then also overturned. He died at the scene.

Jeffrey N. “Stan” Holden
Asst. Chief, 32
Orange Rural FD 
8/13/18
Found in cardiac arrest at the station, after participating in a trench rescue. He was pronounced dead at UNC Hospital’s Hillsborough Campus.