DALLAS, N.C. -- Firefighters said a training fire Monday had an unusual twist after two firemen in Salisbury were killed while fighting a blaze Friday.

Monday morning the Gastonia Fire Department had their first live training fire since the burn ban was lifted. One of the firefighters, Ronnie Capps, was actually a backup to Salisbury firefighters after the fatal fire at Salisbury Millwork.

Capps said he has been in several live training fires. He said going into the burning house on Bessemer City Road on Monday, however, had a different feeling to it.

He said safety is always a concern, but "you definitely have it on the front of your mind instead of the rear."

He said he remembers well the eerie feeling of the fire Friday.

"Seeing the building, seeing the collapse on it. It was an experience," he said.

He said he is more conscious now that he is not just a firefighter, but also a father of two girls.

Training Chief Mark Rutherford said one of the Salisbury firemen who died, Victor Isler, was on the waiting list to take part in another training session that started Monday in Gaston County. He was waiting to see if there was room for him at a week-long airpack training program at Gaston College in Dallas.