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As the families of the two firefighters killed battling a blaze in the Bronx on Sunday began saying their goodbyes Wednesday, FDNY officials are investigating whether work done after an arson fire at the same location six years ago could have contributed to their deaths. In Ramsey, New Jersey, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta was on hand as dozens of firefighters shared memories of 25-year-old Firefighter Michael Reilly, who died in the blaze at a 99-cent store. Reilly is an Iraq War veteran who died in the line of duty for the FDNY just a month and a half after graduating from the Fire Academy. A lieutenant at Engine 75 says Reilly will be remembered for his on-the-job enthusiasm. "He had a great career in front of him. He was always in work early, [and] he looked forward to work every day," said Lt. Pat Colgan. "He was a real good kid." "It was tough to come to grips with the idea that Mike's not going to be around anymore," said Sean Hackbarth, a friend of Reilly's. Reilly's wake will continue Thursday ahead of his funeral, which is Friday. The wake for Lieutenant Howard Carpluk, the 20-year veteran of the Fire Department who had been working an extra shift on the day of fire, is set for Thursday and Friday. His funeral will be on Saturday. Meanwhile, fire marshals want to know if construction work done after a 2000 fire at the 99-cent store then led to the floor collapsing during Sunday's blaze. That cave-in trapped five firefighters, including the two who died. Officials have maintained they don't believe arson was to blame for Sunday's fire, but now there are questions about whether renovations done after that fire years ago were up to par. Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion is one of those raising a red flag. He wants an audit of the self certification process in the Department of Buildings. Councilman Miguel Martinez, the Chairman of the City Council's Fire and Criminal Justice Services Committee, also expressed his concerns as he got a first hand look at the scene. "The DA is looking at investigating the owner, the previous owner, and an electrician also that did a job in this building," said Martinez. "We hope the investigation comes up conclusive, an investigation that will tell us how to prevent these situations from happening again." A spokesperson for Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office said Wednesday that it's premature to talk about causes of the tragedy, let alone lessons to be learned from it.
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