William 'Bill' Elliott, Pompano Beach firefighter, funeral set for today

YouReporter Jeff Harkcom sent in video of the funeral service

Friday's funeral for veteran Pompano Beach firefighter William "Bill" Elliott is expected to draw thousands of family, friends and fellow firefighters from across the country, according to service organizers.

The funeral is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. at Calvary Chapel, 2401 W. Cypress Creek Road in Fort Lauderdale.

That also is the site of the Calvary Christian Academy. The school has about 1,200 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, who are dismissed around 3:30 p.m. daily, according to chapel officials.

Parents are advised to expect considerable delays and be patient because the pickup process will be slow.

There will be no parking or walk-up dismissals. All pickups must be made through the car lines only. Officers and staff will be on hand to direct traffic flow, officials said.

There will be no entry to the school grounds from West Cypress Creek Road, which will be closed from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the funeral. Parents are asked to take McNab Road to Northwest 21st Avenue and drive southbound to enter the school parking area from Northwest 21st Avenue. Vehicles also will exit on 21st Avenue and head northbound back to McNab Road.

Dismissal for elementary students from pre-K through fifth grade will be on the east side of the school only. Dismissal for secondary students will be at the Circle Lot on the southeast side of the school.

Parents must display their elementary or secondary placards in the front window of their vehicles so they are directed to the correct pickup lines. If parents have children in both elementary and secondary grades, they will have to drive through two car lines, school officials said.

The school has sent this information to affected parents through several communications, but with the road closure and full parking lots, a traffic flow map has been added to the instructions at the Calvary Christian Academy website. Log onto ccaeagles.org\trafficflow for details.

Additionally, the Broward Sheriff's Office advises motorists to avoid certain other roads from 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. because of the funeral procession:

Federal Highway (U.S. 1) from Sample Road to Atlantic Boulevard;

Atlantic Boulevard from Federal Highway to Powerline Road;

Northbound Powerline Road to westbound Cypress Creek Road.