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The floor of a 99-cent store in the Bronx collapsed in August 2006, killing two firefighters. A report blamed rotting columns.
Lt. Howard J. Carpluk Jr., left, and Firefighter Michael C. Reilly were killed in an August 2006 blaze.
2006 Fatal Fire Cause Focuses on 82 Year Old Engineer & Perjury Claim
The Bronx district attorney’s office has decided to pursue criminal charges against an engineer whose failure to fully inspect a Bronx construction job was cited in a Fire Department report on the deaths of two firefighters, according to a person who has been briefed on the investigation.
Firefighter Michael C. Reilly and his boss, Lt. Howard J. Carpluk Jr., were fighting a fire in a Walton Avenue discount store in August 2006 when rotting support columns gave way, the floor collapsed and they were trapped, a Fire Department report concluded.
The engineer’s lawyer said on Sunday that the Fire Department’s conclusions about the construction were wrong, and that there was no connection between the plans approved by his client, Jose D. Vargas, and the fatal collapse. The lawyer, Armando Montano, also said that in bringing criminal charges alleging that his client lied to investigators, prosecutors were taking advantage of the lapsed memory of an 82-year-old man.
The charges represent the most significant law enforcement action taken against a professional involved in a program that gives engineers and architects the authority to approve construction projects without city oversight.
The program is essentially an honor system in which the city has transferred many of its inspection responsibilities to architects and engineers and relies on their integrity to ensure building safety. But the city has found widespread abuses in recent years and is working to increase oversight and penalties.
“We are focused on infusing integrity back into the professional certification program,” said Robert LiMandri, New York’s deputy building commissioner.
The engineer, Mr. Vargas, is scheduled to be arraigned in State Supreme Court in the Bronx as early as Monday on perjury charges stemming from allegations that he lied to investigators studying the fatal fire, the person briefed on the case said. Mr. Montano confirmed that his client had been indicted on a perjury charge.
Several months ago, the Fire and Building Departments concluded in investigative reports that Mr. Vargas had approved plans to renovate the building without conducting a final inspection of the work, as required.
In fact, the reports said, the building had rotten support columns, shoddy repair work and alterations far more extensive than listed in the plans that Mr. Vargas approved in 2001. The Fire Department also criticized Mr. Vargas for what it said was a failure to inspect the building carefully.
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