by MURRAY WEISS, DENISE BUFFA and MARSHA KRANES
The engineer who submitted reconstruction plans to the Buildings Department six years ago for the Bronx discount-store where two firefighters died in a tragic floor collapse last week never certified that the work had been done, The Post has learned. And city records also reveal that department inspectors never checked the Walton Avenue store, which had sustained extensive damage in a 2000 arson, to see if the proposed work had ever been carried out. As investigators search for the cause of the deadly collapse, a preliminary analysis of the ruins shows the work on the floor was done incorrectly, a source familiar with the probe said yesterday. Firefighters Howard Carpluk, 43, and Michael Reilly, 25, were sent plummeting after the floor of the one-story building caved in while they were battling an electrical fire Aug. 27. The fall killed Reilly, and Carpluk died of injuries the following day. Fire inspectors and Buildings Department forensic engineers have been painstakingly examining the ruins, trying to recreate what the flooring system looked like prior to its collapse. They are comparing the actual materials used in the reconstruction work to those detailed on the plans submitted to the department. Their preliminary analysis is that the building was "not up to code," said a law-enforcement source close to the investigation. He said that the floor was "not done right." The professional engineer who filed the reconstruction plans for the building's owner was Jose Vargas, of Vargas Associates of Yonkers, according to city records. He certified that the plans submitted complied with city building regulations, said department spokeswoman Jennifer Givner. But he never signed off on the job to certify that it had been completed, she said. Efforts to contact Vargas yesterday for comment were not successful. Givner said it was "pure speculation at this point" to say the building was not up to code. She said the forensic examination of the fire scene is still under way and "no determination has been made yet." Authorities noted that if the investigation reveals that crucial structural repairs were either not made or not made to code, the building's owners could face criminal charges. Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson has assigned a senior investigator from his Arson Economic Crime Unit to work with FDNY and Buildings Department engineers in looking into the cause of the floor collapse. The DA became involved after city investigators came up with information that raised questions about possible criminal wrongdoing, said Executive Assistant DA Odalys Alonso. "They're sharing information with us. We're obviously giving our input," she said. She would not elaborate on what criminal charges might be brought in the case.
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