Newsday

Carpluk, whose husband, Howard, was a Fire Department lieutenant, was escorted by FDNY officials to the wake, said her neighbor Johan McConnell, who added that Carpluk had spent the previous night reading about Reilly.

"She really wanted to go," McConnell said.

At the Van Emburgh-Sneider Funeral Home, she was one of more than an estimated 1,000 people who came to pay their respects yesterday.

Reilly's family sat in front of his coffin shaking hands and hugging friends and colleagues who came to grieve at a ceremony that gave the 25-year-old firefighter a hero's respect.

Reilly and Carpluk, 43, were killed by a fire in a 99-cent store on Walton Avenue in the Mount Eden section of the Bronx, when the roof of the one-story building gave way. Officials believe the fire began in a refrigeration unit in the back of the store. Reilly, an Iraq war Marine veteran who had four months on the firefighting job, died of a heart attack less than two hours after the collapse.

On either side of the coffin, firefighters stood like sentries at attention in dress blues. Flower arrangements spelled out "Engine 75," his unit. A collage of photos from Reilly's life included one of him as a boy wearing a firefighter's helmet.

"Mike was an awesome guy," said Matt Salemme, 27, who worked with Reilly in the Stratford, Conn., fire department before Reilly joined the FDNY. "He was dedicated to his family. It was his lifelong dream of being a career firefighter. He was a good person to have as a friend and a brother."

Salemme said firefighting was "in ... blood. He loved the excitement."

He added that Reilly was the first to rush into a burning building, and that he never backed down. Salemme said firefighters in Stratford would be conducting their own memorial service for Reilly, too.

Rick Roman, 24, a city firefighter, said Reilly chose the toughest assignments, adding that Reilly selected Engine 75 because it was most challenging.

"He had a choice of going anywhere," Roman said. "He could have gone to the slowest house. He wanted to fight fires."

Lt. Pat Colgan of Engine 75 said of Reilly's comrades: "They're sad, of course, like anybody would be. Unfortunately, they know these things can happen."

He said Reilly was "very enthusiastic," and that he "had a great career in front of him. He looked forward to work every day. He was a young bright guy, very into his job."

Back in Yaphank, Carpluk's family prepared for his wake, scheduled for today and tomorrow, and funeral while his neighbors provided emotional support, adorning the neighborhood with dozens of violet ribbons in a tribute to the fallen firefighter.

"He was my hero long before he became a fireman," said his sister Cathy Farrell, 37. "He was the rock that held the five of us together," she said, referring to their siblings.

Crissy Carpluk, 37, Farrell's twin sister, said the family is doing "as good as you can be. Firemen are the most amazing group of individuals."

Carpluk's family has set visiting hours from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. today and tomorrow at the Frederick J. Chapey & Sons Funeral Home in East Islip.

The funeral will be 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Montauk Highway in Islip.