Investigators work to determine cause of Salisbury funeral home fire

SALISBURY, N.C. — Firefighters battled a massive fire at a Salisbury funeral home for hours on Friday.

The fire broke out at Lyerly Funeral Home on South Main Street shortly after noon.

Video from Chopper 9 Skyzoom showed flames and heavy smoke pouring from the building.

The owner of the funeral home, Brent Lyerly, said there were two employees and one visitor inside the building when it caught fire. They got out safely, but the bodies of two sisters who died just hours apart Wednesday were inside. Effie Stiller, 91, and Marie Miller, 84, were supposed to be buried Saturday.

The Stiller family heard the news just minutes after the fire started.

"We're just devastated about the death to begin with, and this is really devastating," said Sondra Stiller, Effie Stiller's daughter-in-law.

Firefighters were called to the scene at 12:20 p.m. It was initially a three-alarm fire but then became a four-alarm fire, city officials said.

Fifty firefighters battled the flames, and 50 additional people were there for support staff, according to officials.

Firefighters initially went into the building but had to pull back because the smoke was too thick, officials said.

The fire was so intense, the roof and part of the first floor collapsed. Fire officials had to call in a special team to help secure the roof before finding Effie's and Marie's caskets. They finally reached the bodies around 9:45 p.m.

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"We are deeply saddened for the loss experienced by the Lyerly family today and will keep all involved in our thoughts and prayers,” said Salisbury Fire Chief Bob Parnell.

The family members of Effie Stiller and Marie Miller have decided to move both services to the Chapel at Rowan Memorial park in Salisbury on Saturday.

Visitation for Stiller will begin at 12:30 p.m. and Miller’s will begin at 4 p.m.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, officials said, but Brent Lyerly told Eyewitness News he had turned up the heat in the building just before stepping out for lunch. He then got a call saying that someone smelled an odor and possibly smoke in the building.

According to the funeral home’s website, it is a family-owned business that was founded in 1957.

The SBI is expected to investigate the cause of the fire Saturday.

WSOC