AP Photo/Mel Evans
The street in front of St. Paul Roman Catholic Church in Ramsey, N.J., is filled with hundreds of firefighters for the funeral service of Firefighter Michael Reilly. |
NEW YORK — Fire departments should consider the possibility of a substandard structure when building information is not available from pre-incident plans, according to a NIOSH report into the deaths of two FDNY firefighters.
Twenty-year veteran Lt. Howard Carpluk, 43, and rookie firefighter Michael Reilly, 25, died when they were trapped in the basement of a burning discount store Aug. 27 last year.
Scores of firefighters were sent to the one-story building in the Bronx and five became trapped in the basement when the ground floor collapsed.
Lt. Carpluk and Firefighter Reilly were among those taken to the hospital after being rescued, but later died.
According to the NIOSH report, structural alterations were made to the girders, columns and floor in the building in order to presumably level and support the floor.
The post-incident inspection also showed 2 x 4 boards being used inappropriately (in orientation and stability) as a floor joist.
In addition, a cluster of nails were used in lieu of bolts to attach gusset plates to the columns and girders.
Further recommendations by NIOSH in the wake of the deaths include:
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Fire departments should consider the live load of water on the structure and go defensive when water load compromises the structural integrity.
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Fire departments should consider the use of thermal imaging cameras during initial size-up to assess fire size/intensity and possible structural damage.
