Seek Cause of Blaze
Mourn Firefighters, Probe Continues

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

As this paper went to press Sept. 1, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and family, friends and colleagues of Probationary Firefighter Michael C. Reilly paid their last respects to the young man who died in the line of duty two weeks ago while battling a blaze in The Bronx.

Lt. HOWARD J. CARPLUK

Firefighter Reilly's funeral was held in his hometown of Ramsey, New Jersey. The former military man, who served in Iraq with the Marines, graduated from the FDNY Training Academy on Randalls Island six weeks prior to his death.

Carpluk Mourned

A line-of-duty funeral for Lieut. Howard J. Carpluk, who died a day after being injured alongside Firefighter Reilly, was planned for Sept. 2 in East Islip, where he lived with his family.

Both men were fatally injured Aug. 27 when Engine Company 75 was sent to a fire at a 99-cent store in the South Bronx. Lieutenant Carpluk, normally with Engine Company 42, was assigned to the other company to fill a vacation absence.

Although Fire Marshals and investigators from the Department of Buildings haven't filed an official report yet, there has been speculation that badly-done repairs made after a previous fire in 2000 contributed to the sudden collapse of the floor, which sent Lieutenant Carpluk and Firefighter Reilly crashing to the basement under mounds of debris.

MICHAEL C. REILLY

Three other firefighters fell with them, but weren't covered with the same amount of material. Battalion Chief Thomas Auer, 47, and Lieut. John Grasso, 45, were in stable condition at New York Hospital at press time. Firefighter Wayne Walters, 36, was released Aug. 28.

Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion issued a statement Aug. 30 calling for an audit of the Department of Buildings process for certifying repairs and building modifications. "If this is an issue of having too few Fire Marshals or enforcement officials, I say enough is enough," he added.

Fire Department spokesman Farrell Sklerov said it would be premature to comment before initial investigations were completed.