by BRYAN VIRASAMI AND JOSEPH MALLIA
The death of New York City Fire Department Lt. Howard Carpluk in a Bronx store fire continued to resonate yesterday at his home firehouse, Engine 42, where his comrades announced yesterday that they had created a memorial fund to benefit his widow and two young children. "This is a crippling loss for us," said Engine 42's Lt. Steven Wall. He was "an excellent leader, an excellent fireman. ... It's a very difficult moment for us at 42 and it is a very difficult moment for the FDNY." Fire union officials said yesterday that Carpluk, 43, in a last act of generosity, donated his organs to those in need of transplants. The Yaphank man died Monday in Montefiore Medical Center of injuries he suffered in a Sunday fire when the floor of a discount store in the Mount Eden section of the Bronx collapsed beneath a group of firefighters searching for victims. His family said yesterday that they were grateful for the kindness and generosity they have received since his death. "Debbie, his wife, and his brother and sisters would like to thank everybody for their heartfelt thoughts and prayers," said FDNY firefighter John Blake of Patchogue, a family friend who answered the telephone at their Yaphank home. "Debbie would like to add that he was a wonderful father, and a loving husband, and there are no words to describe what his family is going through," Blake said. Wall said he first met Carpluk after Sept. 11, 2001, and he noticed that he was especially helpful to young firefighters who joined the department after the attacks. Carpluk had a "calming influence in this firehouse after that horrible moment," Wall said, echoing the views of families and small business owners near the Bronx firehouse who praised him for watching out for the neighborhood's children. Another firefighter who died the day of the fire, Michael Reilly, 25, of Ramsey, N.J., will be laid to rest Friday, following a funeral Mass at St. Paul Roman Catholic Church on Wyckoff Avenue in Ramsey at 10:30 a.m. Carpluk's family has set visiting hours for tomorrow and Friday, from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. at the Frederick J. Chapey & Sons Funeral Home in East Islip. A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday in St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Montauk Highway in Islip. Donations to the Howard Carpluk Memorial Fund, benefiting his widow Debra, son Bradley, 14, and daughter Paige, 10, may be sent to P.O. Box 1124, Morris Heights Station, Bronx NY 10453.
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