By Joseph Mallia
Newsday (New York)
Copyright 2006 Newsday, Inc.
It was 2 p.m. sharp when firefighters from the New York City Fire Department’s Engine 42 yesterday formed ranks, in blue dress uniforms and white hats, and walked into an East Islip funeral home.
In a dimly lit room made fragrant by dozens of bouquets and wreaths, the Bronx-based contingent of firefighters filed past Lt. Howard Carpluk Jr.'s coffin, pausing to embrace and console his family.
Near the coffin, a young girl asked a woman why everyone was standing in line.
“They’re all saying goodbye,” the woman answered.
For the next two hours, uniformed firefighters from every borough filed slowly past the coffin.
“This is a very tight brotherhood,” FDNY firefighter John Blake of Patchogue, a family friend, said afterward.
For the second time this week, New York firefighters waked a fallen comrade. Yesterday was the first day of public mourning for Carpluk, 43, of Yaphank. The day before, many of the same firefighters — along with Carpluk’s widow, Debbie — attended a wake in Ramsey, N.J., for firefighter Michael Reilly, 25. Both Reilly and Carpluk died of injuries from a Sunday fire in a Bronx discount store.
At the Frederick J. Chapey & Sons Funeral Home in East Islip yesterday, hundreds of photographs were displayed near the coffin, showing Carpluk as a young boy, at his wedding, with groups of friends, and with children Bradley, 14, and Paige, 10.
One wreath carried the message, “FDNY BROTHERS 4 EVER.”
“His wife is holding up pretty strong,” Blake said. The wake helped the family, he said. “It’s uplifting and it’s making them feel better - all the old friends, the old fun stories.”
A firefighter from FDNY’s Division 3 in Manhattan, who like many others in uniform yesterday declined to give his name, said the last week of August was sobering.
“You know the risks, but it’s tough,” he said. “We lost three guys last year and two this year. It’s been a long, tough week.”
Attending the wakes for Carpluk and Reilly this week was more difficult than entering a burning building, said a firefighter from Engine 48 in the Bronx.
“That’s the easy part. This is the hard part.”
It wasn’t all somber. His wife, remarking on Carpluk’s devotion to the New York Jets, said she expects good things this season. “His widow said, ‘The Jets better win this year,’” and that brought smiles, one family friend said.
Visiting hours for the Carpluk family continue today from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.
Reilly will be laid to rest today in Ramsey, following a 10:30 a.m. funeral Mass.