LODD- FF Michael C. Rielly, E-75 FDNY 8-27-06

[McSorleys911 0]

Bronx blaze turns deadly for FDNY

BY LUIS PEREZ

NEWSDAY STAFF WRITER

August 28, 2006

A rookie New York City firefighter who served with the U.S. Marines in Iraq was killed and a veteran lieutenant critically injured Sunday after a group of firemen fell through the floor of a burning Bronx building, officials said.

Firefighter Michael Reilly, 25, of Engine 75, was carrying a hose inside 1575 Walton Avenue, officials said, when the floor gave way beneath him, trapping him and four others in a cocoon of debris in the basement just before 1 p.m.

Reilly, a former volunteer firefighter from Ramsey, N.J., and a Marine who fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom, was rescued from the rubble and rushed to Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead, officials said.

Officials said Reilly apparently died from heart failure and suffered no burns in the fall.

Lt. Howard Carpluk, 42, of Engine 42 in the Bronx, was also rescued, and was listed in critical condition at the same hospital. Department officials did not list Carpluk's home town, but it is believed he is a resident of Suffolk County.

The death marked another sad day for the New York City Fire Department, which is just two weeks away from commemorating the loss of 343 men on Sept. 11, 2001. Sunday's fire , in the Mount Eden section of the Bronx, occurred a mile from a building where two firefighters jumped four stories to their deaths on Jan. 23, 2005, a day known in the department as "Black Sunday."

"The loss of any of our bravest in the line of duty is a blow to the heart of our city," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at an impromptu press conference at the hospital..

The three-alarm fire broke out in a one-story building that houses a 99-cent store and left 21 firemen, from a battallion chief to rank-and-file firefighters, with smoke inhalation and other minor injuries, officials said. An exact cause of the fire has not been determined.

Officials said that workers at the store called 911 after the glass on a refrigerator shattered in an unexplained explosion.

By the time firefighers arrived, the fire had started, officials said.

The fire, not deeemed suspicious, burned for four hours before it was extinguished, officials said. Two hours into battling it, the blaze became a rescue operation, with 138 firefighters on scene, many of whom toiled to get an oxygen hose to the trapped firefighters.

A spokeswoman for the city buildings department said that the building had no history of structural problems.

Reilly had begun his firefighting career in his hometown, said Erik Endress, president of the volunteer Ramsey Rescue Squad.

"He is definitely cut from that cloth of run-into-the-fire guys," said Endress, who said Ramsey joined in 1997, after high school. "He's a tough guy, right in your face. I'm sure he was making a great accomplishement for himself in the FDNY very quickly, as he did with us."

Carpluk hails from Yaphank, and is a 20-year-veteran, officials said. Some of the other men who were injured were Lt. John Grasso, of Engine 92; Battalion Chief Thomas Auer, of Battalion 17; and Firefighter Wayne Walters, a four-year veteran from Engine 75, officials said.

Bloomberg recalled that he had met Reilly in a July ceremony inducting him into the fire department, and added that he also knew Reilly's father, an accountant, who said his son always wanted to be a firefighter. "He was somebody who I shook hands with and congratulated only four months ago," the mayor said.

In the 2005 fire, Lt. Curtis W. Meyran, 46, and Firefighter John G. Bellew, 37, died after jumping from the building. Four others were also critically injured fighting the fire, where illegally built partitions blocked access to a fire escape.

Staff Writers Brandon Bain and Christine Armario contributed to this story.

[f19 4]

R. I. P.

Edited August 28, 2006 by f19

[mlcougar2001 8]

R.I.P. Its a sad day in the fire service....

[FDNYDCHI 38]

R.I.P. brother

[Guest]

The information given on Mike Reily forgot to mention that he was a career firefighter for the City of Stratford Ct before his appointment to FDNY.His brother and sisters from Stratford will miss him.

[Guest]

Rest in Peace brother, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

[DMA327 12]

Very very sad indeed. R.I.P. FF Michael Reilly... God bless him, his family, and his friends and collegues. I hope that everyone else injured in this blaze makes a full recovery.

[Truck4 48]

According to the Mayor's Press Release, Reilly lived in Sleepy Hollow.

NYC Press Release

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG AND FIRE COMMISSIONER NICHOLAS SCOPPETTA ANNOUNCE THE DEATH OF FIREFIGHTER MICHAEL C. REILLY

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta announced today the death of Firefighter Michael C. Reilly of Engine Company 75 in the Bronx. Reilly, 25, a probationary firefighter who just graduated the fire academy on July 6, was fatally injured this afternoon while battling a third-alarm fire in the South Bronx. He was pronounced dead a short time later at Bronx Lebanon Hospital.

Reilly was appointed to the FDNY on April 11, 2006, and spent 13 weeks in the fire academy before being assigned to Engine Company 75. He joined the United States Marine Corps in 2000 and was a Sergeant in the Marine Reserves.

Four other firefighters were seriously hurt in the fire, including Lt. Howard J. Carpluk Jr., 43, of Engine Company 42, who suffered the most critical injuries. The 20-year veteran was taken to Bronx Lebanon Hospital before being transferred to the cardiac support center at Montefiore Medical Center. He is listed in extremely critical condition at this time.

The three other injured firefighters are Battalion Chief Thomas W. Auer, 47, of Battalion 17, a 23-year veteran; Lieutenant John P. Grasso, 45, of Engine 92, a 20-year veteran; and Wayne J. Walters, 30, of Engine 75, a 4-year veteran. They are listed in serious but stable condition at Jacobi Medical Center at this time.

Firefighters responded to a call for a fire at 12:29 p.m. at 1575 Walton Ave., a one-story 99-cent store near the Grand Concourse. The blaze quickly went to a second alarm at 12:38 p.m. and then a third alarm at 1:07 p.m. FDNY units entered the building in a search for fire and victims when a collapse occurred. Maydays were transmitted and firefighters rescued five trapped members.

A total of 23 firefighters were injured in the fire. The blaze was brought under control at 4:43 p.m. Fire marshals continue to investigate the cause of the fire. Approximately 33 units and 138 firefighters participated in the extinguishing of the fire and the rescue effort.

A resident of Sleepy Hollow, Firefighter Reilly is survived by his mother Monica, father Michael, brother Kevin and sister Erin.

Firefighter Reilly is the 1,133rd member of the New York City Fire Department to make the Supreme Sacrifice in the Department's 142-year history.

[x635 4,066]

Firefighter Rielly just graduated from Probie School on July 6th. He was a brand new firefighter, and imagine very excited to be responding to this job, probaly one of his first, and the one that would ultimately take his life. From his past afffiliation with Stratford FD and his current with Ramsey FD, I would assume that he was quite into the job and this was a dream for him being appointed to the FDNY.

What a tragedy that took him from us. He managed to survive Iraq, and this happens. This serves as another reminder of fate and how precious life is. This job isn't just a game, and here's yet another sad reminder.

Although this may not happen often, here's a real LODD that should have us all thinking, thanking, and valuing our brothers just a little bit more.

Thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and brothers. Rest in peace, Michael, and I hope your loved ones take peace in knowing you were doing what you loved.

Edited August 28, 2006 by x635

[Guest]

Rest brother. To the Rielly family, my deepest and heartfely sympathies and prayers.

[Guest]

Prayers go out to the family, friends and brothers.

[oilflame 0]

rip

[jklam3 10]

Rest in Peace brother

[BedfordFire 7]

Rest in peace FF Rielly.

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

Another great loss of a hero for Engine 75, The Bronx, The City of New York, FDNY, the Marines, Ramsey Fire Deartment and Rescue Squad, Sleepy Hollow, The Reilly Family and the Stratford Fire Department

REST IN PEACE

Edited August 28, 2006 by bvfdjc316

[Guest]

I served with Firefighter Reilly in Stratford CT and I will miss him forever. RIP Brother

[LCFD968 10]

from the Journal News........

Sleepy Hollow man dies fighting Bronx blaze

By THE JOURNAL NEWS

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

(Original Publication: August 27, 2006)

NEW YORK — A Sleepy Hollow man man who recently fulfilled his dream of becoming a firefighter died while tackling a blaze at a 99-cent store when a floor collapsed and plunged him and four colleagues into the basement.

Hundreds of firefighters were called to the one-story Bronx building around 12:30 p.m. Sunday, and five of them became trapped in the basement after the ground floor gave way, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

Michael C. Reilly, 25, of Sleepy Hollow arrived at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center on Sunday with no pulse or vital signs, and he wasn't breathing on his own, a doctor said. He was pronounced dead about 3 p.m.; the cause of death wasn't announced.

He had graduated from the fire academy four months ago.

The other four firefighters were injured, one of them critically, Bloomberg said at a somber hospital news conference.

Rest in peace brother!!!

Edited August 28, 2006 by LCFD968

[BuffMedic236 0]

LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Edited August 28, 2006 by BuffMedic236

[grumpyff 1,159]

RIP brother, and may the others have a quick and complete recovery

[Guest]

R.I.P brother you are a true hero, be at peace

[Guest Rich DD]

To the Family of Michael C. Rielly, and our brothers in FDNY my deepest condolences. May he rest in peace.

[TRFDprobie 1]

RIP

[Tomflammia 0]

RIP

←

The next time you think of heroes ..ie. sports, entertainment etc.....do u think a sports figure or entertainer would come out in the middle of the night to pull u or your kids out of a burning building?

You guys are bigger than life.......God Bless You All

My deepest codolences to FF. Reilly ans his family.

Tom Flammia and Family

Yonkers NY

[Guest]

RIP,

He was also an Ex-Startford CT. Firefighter before joing the FDNY.

[chiefhac 130]

Some pictures from Newsday at Bronx Fire.

Link: http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/...adlines&index=1

[Guest]

God bless him, his family, and his friends and collegues. I hope that everyone else injured in this blaze makes a full recovery. May he rest in peace.

[EMT1094 0]

RIP FF Reilly. My thoughts, prayers and heartfelt sympathy to the Reilly family and friends and to FF Reilly's brothers and sisters in FDNY, Ramsey FD and Stratford FD.

[JAD622 40]

The next time you think of heroes ..ie. sports, entertainment etc.....do u think a sports figure or entertainer would come out in the middle of the night to pull u or your kids out of a burning building?

My thoughts exactly. We idolize sports and entertainment figures and pay them rediculous amounts of money while most of us in firefighting struggle to take care of our families. Our priorities are way off.

Rest in Peace Brother

May God watch over those who Love you.

[Guest]

The information given on Mike Reily forgot to mention that he was a career firefighter for the City of Stratford Ct before his appointment to FDNY.His brother and sisters from Stratford will miss him.

←

He not only worked at Stratford Ct, but he also briefly worked at West Point USMA. I used to relief him on the watch. RIP brother

[FDNY 10-75 640]

Rest in peace brother. God blesss his family and friends.