DAGSBORO, Del. - Funeral services are set for a Sussex County junior firefighter killed while responding to an alarm.
A viewing for Justin Townsend, 17, of Dagsboro, is scheduled for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday night at the Dagsboro Volunteer Fire Department.
A funeral service with full firefighter honors is set to take place immediately following a viewing on Saturday at Indian River High School. The viewings are open to the public, fire department spokesman Matt Gajdos said in a statement.
The public is encouraged to line the procession route between the high school and Redman's Cemetery, where Townsend will be interred.
The teenager's death marks the first line-of-duty death in the Dagsboro Fire Department's 69-year history.
Townsend died in a crash on Pepper Road near Selbyville on Thursday afternoon while en route to the fire house for a brush fire alarm. Delaware State Police said Townsend was a passenger in a pickup truck which spun off the road, hit a telephone pole and overturned due to excessive speed.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations in Justin's honor be made to the Dagsboro Volunteer Fire Department.
