VIDEO: Twenty years after a deadly Bronx fire, the FDNY gathered Thursday to honor Lt. Howard “Howie” Carpluk and firefighter Michael Reilly, who were killed while battling flames at a 99-cent store on Walton Avenue.
A steady rain fell outside Engine 75, Ladder 33 and Battalion 19 in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx, where firefighters, relatives and friends came together for a memorial service.
For Carpluk’s brother, John, the turnout was a reminder that Howie’s FDNY family has remained close in the two decades since his death.
“I lost a brother, gained a whole family,” John Carpluk said.
The fire happened on Aug. 27, 2006, when firefighters entered the store to battle heavy flames. The floor then collapsed, sending five FDNY members into the basement and triggering a difficult rescue operation.
WPIX-TV CW 11 New York City