LISTOWEL, Ont. - Thousands of people are expected attend a funeral today for two volunteer firefighters who died battling a blaze in a small Ontario town.


Premier Dalton McGuinty is to join emergency responders from across the country at the Memorial Arena in Listowel.

Ray Walter, 30, and Ken Rea, 56, died last week after they went into a burning dollar store and part of the structure caved in.

As many as 10,000 people are expected to visit the town of 6,000 northwest of Kitchener for the funeral.

The town has organized a black ribbon campaign honouring the firefighters and routes into the community are marked with the small flags of remembrance.

There was a minute of silence in the Ontario legislature earlier in the week for the two men and flags were flown at half-mast.

There are several investigations into the circumstances surrounding the fire and the deaths of the two volunteers.

The Ontario Provincial Police have also issued an appeal to anyone who was in the store before the fire occurred to contact them.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.