The memorial for a fallen volunteer firefighter continues to grow at the Pineville Fire Department.
Officials say the fire at a strip mall on Pineville-Matthews Road was caused by a lightning strike, and 20-year-old Richard Sheltra died as a result of smoke inhalation.
The memorial service will be held at the Forest Hills Church in Charlotte on Saturday at noon. During the service, a small procession of local fire apparatus will participate, officials said.
"We have a saying in the fire service 'everyone goes home.' And that's our overall goal is to make sure everyone goes home at the end of the shift," fire spokesman Bill Southard said.
That's part of what makes the loss so difficult for them to grasp. Southard says it's the first fire death in the line of duty Charlotte has seen since 2002.
Monday night, dozens of firefighters from other departments, police officers and members of the community came out to the department to bring food, flowers and simply to offer their support.
"When a tragedy happens, we come together as a family, and we call it the brotherhood. The fire department brotherhood," Southard said.
NBC Charlotte obtained a copy of the radio calls made during the incident using the website Statter-911.com. You can hear a firefighter struggling as he tries to get Sheltra out of the building.
“Sheltra did not make it out of the building yet. He’s coming now.