20 years after fatal blaze, FDNY Lt. Howard Carpluk, from Long Island, and his firefighter colleague honored

It’s been 20 years since a fire at a discount store in the Bronx took the lives of a veteran FDNY fire lieutenant from Long Island and a rookie firefighter. But with the passage of time, their legacies have endured and even grown, fire officials said. 

The FDNY paid tribute Thursday to Lt. Howard Carpluk of Yaphank and Probationary Firefighter Michael Reilly, whose deaths in the August 2006 blaze prompted discussions about safety reforms such as increased building inspections and the re-engineering of the department radio's Mayday button.

The event, held at the Engine 75/Ladder 33/Battalion 19 firehouse in the Bronx's Fordham neighborhood, featured recollections from FDNY officials as family and the fire community watched and listened. Bagpipes played “Amazing Grace” and commemorative wreaths honoring the two firefighters were laid down in the firehouse.

Reilly, a 25-year-old Iraq War veteran deployed with Engine 75, was described as quiet and serious but with so much promise. Carpluk, a 20-year department veteran with Engine 42 in the Bronx's Mount Hope neighborhood, was remembered as a fisherman, gifted athlete, prankster and trusted leader. He was 43. 

“Howie was the epitome of what every company officer strives to be. He led by example and always put his firefighters first. That leadership and commitment to those under his command was never more evident than on that tragic day 20 years ago,” said Michael Woods, the FDNY's assistant chief of operations.

“Firefighter Michael Reilly was only 25 years old when we lost him that day, but he was a man who accomplished so much in his young life," he added. "A proud son and brother, he was raised to fulfill a commitment of service.”

The call came in about 12:30 on that rainy Sunday in the summer of 2006, alerting firefighters to a fire in a commercial building at 1575 Walton Ave., the FDNY said. The fire spread rapidly and reached three alarms.

Lt. Stephen Wall, of Engine 42, said he remembers seeing a yellow line of fire in the back of the building. The fire, he said, rose up the back wall, came across the ceiling, over fire officials' heads and out the front door.

Wall recalls seeing Carpluk yelling from the street, “It's over your head,” one of the last times he saw him.

At some point, firefighters entered the building and began searching for victims. But the building’s floor collapsed, plunging Carpluk, Reilly and several other firefighters into the cellar, fire officials said. They were stuck under a deluge of debris.

Firefighters first found Carpluk, who told them to look for Reilly nearby, officials said. A few feet away, Reilly was found holding his handline's nozzle. The two had met that day.

Reilly died that day. Carpluk was hospitalized but died the next day.

Wall said he held Carpluk’s hand, imploring him to pull through.

“It was his concern for the safety of his brothers and his intestinal fortitude that drove him to do what he did that day,” he said. 

Since Carpluk’s death, his family has expanded, relatives say. His daughter is set to get married next year. His son had a baby boy about two months ago.

John Carpluk, Howard Carpluk's younger brother, said his brother paid the ultimate price for doing what he loved: helping people.

He “loved everybody, loved his guys, and he loved his family," John Carpluk said, "and he's missed."