By Michael Daly
New York Daily News
The rescuers breached the wall of the cellar behind the burning building, and a firefighter was tunneling into the debris when he felt a tug on his pant leg.
By several accounts, the firefighter had worked his way into a small void and had been trying to wiggle past a huge storage cabinet. He eased around and saw that the tug had come from one of his trapped comrades. “I’m here,” the trapped firefighter mumbled.
The firefighter asked his trapped comrade’s name and company. The trapped man was clearly in great physical distress, but he managed to say he was Lt. Howard Carpluk and he was working that day with Engine 75.