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- A New York nursing home resident has died and another is missing after huge fire tore through three-story facility
- Fire broke out at the 200-person nursing home in Spring Valley, 35 miles north and west of New York City
- Fire and rescue crews are on the scene at Evergreen Nursing Home, which was left ‘completely destroyed’
- One firefighter is reportedly missing at the scene of the fire, which broke out at around 1:40am on Tuesday
- All 112 residents of the facility have been accounted for and up to 20 were taken to hospital, officials said
- Scores of others who were unharmed by the fire were evacuated to a nearby retirement home
- Witnesses reported there was an explosion moments before the fire tore through the building
- Multiple people were trapped as several Good Samaritans rushed into burning building and saved residents
- Officials said that the nursing home was a ‘very old’ building which was ‘conducive to a rapid spread of fire’
- Video from the scene shows the building engulfed in flames and later collapsing
- More than 100 firefighters from some two dozen different departments responded to the blaze
- Two firefighters suffered minor injuries, though officials said that they are expected to recover
- The area in Rockland County where the fire broke out is known to house a large Orthodox Jewish community
A nursing home resident was killed, another was reported missing, and a firefighter was unaccounted for after a huge blaze broke out at a three-story assisting living facility some 30 miles north and west of New York City.
Several other residents were seriously injured while authorities have also launched a search for a missing firefighter who was rescuing one of the trapped victims on the third floor.
Fire officials said the missing firefighter, who was one of the first to respond to the blaze, is a member of the Spring Valley Fire Department. It is believed that the missing firefighter got lost inside the burning building and was unable to find their way out.
‘We have numerous teams looking through the rubble’ for the missing firefighter, Rockland County Director of Fire and Emergency Services Chris Kear said.
‘We believe at this time he got lost and just couldn’t find his way out.’
‘We’ve got to start pulling it back, and peeling it layer by layer. And hopefully he’ll be recovered.’
Kear said that firefighters were looking for their missing comrade after a ‘mayday’ call indicating great distress, but they had to end their search.
‘The conditions were just too unbearable. They had to back out,’ Kear said.
Fire and rescue were on the scene at the 200-capacity Evergreen nursing home in Spring Valley, where the roof collapsed following an explosion. 
The image above shows firefighters at the scene of a nursing home in Rockland County, New York that caught on fire in the early morning hours of Tuesday
The Evergreen nursing home in Spring Valley holds up to 200 residents. At least one person was killed in the blaze
Firefighters in Rockland County are seen above at the scene of the blaze early on Tuesday morning
‘Today is a moment of great pain for the village of Spring Valley and for the entirety of Rockland County,’ Rockland County Executive Ed Day said.
At the time of the fire, between 100 and 125 people were living inside the facility and between 20 and 30 residents had to be rescued, according to officials.
Officials are now working to account for all of the residents, though they ‘believe most are accounted for,’ said Kear.
‘It’s a sad day on many fronts,’ Kear said, though he credited ‘heroic’ first responders with having ‘saved numerous, numerous lives here.’
Kear added: ‘We believe [most of the resident] are [accounted for], but again we are double checking, we are triple checking, to make sure.’
Fire officials said that the building was ‘very old’ and ‘conducive to a rapid spread of fire’ and it is believed to have been equipped with a partial sprinkler system.
Fire officials said they were first notified of an emergency at 12:52am on Tuesday.
Residents of the nursing home were reported trapped as flames were seen shooting out of the building.
The fire quickly spread from the first floor up through the roof and burned for some six hours.
As of 11am on Tuesday, small hotspot fires were still burning, according to officials.
‘It’s a frame building,’ Kear said. ‘It’s had numerous additions on it.
‘I believe it was a partial sprinkler system in the building. The sheer size of the building and the amount of the fire is what’s making it take so long.’
A large fire has broken out at a nursing home in New York, with multiple people trapped. Fire and rescue are on the scene at Evergreen Nursing Home in Spring Valley, where the roof has reportedly collapsed
Investigators are looking into whether the building was adequately equipped with smoke detectors and other fire mitigation measures.
In 2019, the New York State Health Department conducted an inspection of the facility and found several violations related to the condition of the building. One of those violations involved regulations on smoke and fire protection in adult-care facilities.
Two of the violations cited were for fire code. The first was for a range hood in the kitchen. At the time the range hood was first inspected by the state, the nursing home did not have a certificate of compliance available for immediate review.
A source told DailyMail.com that the certificate was provided to the inspector the next day while they were on site.
The second violation was for residents who were smoking in their rooms and possessing extension cords.
The nursing home responded by replacing all unrated extension cords with surge protectors, advising residents about the dangers of smoking in their rooms and posting no smoking signs in the hallways.
The DOH acknowledged they corrected the issue, according to the source.
Denise Kerr, the director of the nursing home, told DailyMail.com that the facility was cited for ‘minor’ fire code violations that were ‘long ago corrected’ and ‘approved by the Department of Health.’
‘Since [2019], Evergreen Court Home for Adults has been inspected multiple times by the Department of Health and local health authorities and have had no fire-related citations issued to us,’ Kerr told DailyMail.com.
Public records indicate that the owner of the nursing home is Joseph Schoenberger, who is listed as the head of the company that administers the facility, G & J New Bader Enterprises based in Spring Valley.
DailyMail.com has attempted to reach Schoenberger by phone for comment.
Kerr released a statement on Tuesday which read: ‘This is an unspeakable tragedy at Evergreen Court Home and our hearts and prayers go out to all individuals and families who have been impacted.
‘We join the community in mourning the loss of our resident who passed away and pray for the safety of the missing firefighter.
‘We are fully cooperating with all state and local authorities in the investigation of this fire and are conducting our own internal investigation as well.
The early-morning fire at the assisted living facility prompted the evacuation of residents and led to the partial collapse of the building
According to witnesses, several Good Samaritans ran into the burning building and saved residents from the blazeHuge fire breaks out at upstate New York nursing home
The image above shows firefighters extinguishing the blaze that broke out at Evergreen Nursing Home in Spring Valley on Tuesday morning
Witnesses reported that the fire quickly spread through the building and left it ‘completely destroyed’
‘Our staff was truly heroic in evacuating residents who were inside the building as the fire spread, and we are forever grateful to the first responders whose actions undoubtedly saved lives.
‘All 112 residents at Evergreen Court Home are accounted for and have been placed in a new home. We are currently in the process of contacting their families.’
According to ABC7 news, authorities said that one resident had been killed after being transported to the hospital, and that multiple residents had been injured.
Video was posted to social media showing dozens of evacuees driven away from the scene on a bus.
The Spring Valley Police Department, which is leading the investigation, released a statement to DailyMail.com saying that several firefighters and residents were injured and that ‘it is too early to comment on the cause of the fire.’
The SVPD is being aided in the investigation by police and fire agencies including the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office, New York State Police, and other emergency services.
Numerous fire departments responded to the scene in an effort to combat the blaze, according to the police.
CNN meanwhile said a firefighter was also unaccounted for, and that another suffered a heart attack and was being treated at a nearby hospital.
The fire continued to burn for more than five hours after flames broke out around 1:40am on Tuesday, with videos showing a huge blaze ripping through the building. 
The image above shows the scale of the destruction caused by the fire which tore through the nursing home early on Tuesday morning
The image above shows the entrance to the nursing home and columns of the building that was left completely destroyed
A firefighter surveys the ruins of the building after it was destroyed by a fire early on Tuesday morning
The image above shows smoke rising from the smoldering ruins of a nursing home that was devastated by a fire early on Tuesday morning
Firefighters survey the extensive damage as the building was left hollowed out by the fire early on Tuesday morning
The image above shows the skeleton of the structure that was torn apart by a fire early on Tuesday morning
Investigators from the Spring Valley Police Department told DailyMail.com that it was still too early to pinpoint the cause of the fire
The image above shows mangled staircases amid smoldering ruins left behind by a fire that tore through a nursing home in Rockland County, New York early on Tuesday morning
More than 100 firefighters from some 26 different departments were summoned to the scene to help combat the blaze
The image above shows the level of destruction wrought by the fire which broke out in the early morning hours of Tuesday
Firefighters at the scene survey the damage after extinguishing the flames from the blaze on Tuesday morning
Fire crews worked to put out small pockets of fire that still burned in the early morning hours of Tuesday
An exhausted firefighter takes a much-needed break near the scene of the blaze on Tuesday morning
A volunteer firefighter from nearby Suffern, New York takes a break after responding to the blaze in Spring Valley on Tuesday
Firefighters were sifting through the rubble in search of possible victims of the blaze early on Tuesday morning
The New York Fire Department and Hatzolah were on the scene where there was a ‘massive explosion’, according to Orthodox Jewish media outlet Belaaz.
An eyewitness told Insider the building had been engulfed in flames for around two hours before the explosion caused part of it to cave in on itself.
First responders were seen evacuating people from inside the building, with the cause of the blaze currently unknown.
Hershey Green, a resident of Spring Valley, told WCBS that when people saw the flames, he and others ran in to help residents.
People ‘literally ran in and helped out with the seniors,’ Green told the outlet as flames continued to burn in the building behind him.
‘There was plenty of just good Samaritans out here, about eight of them that literally ran into the building and bring them out in the wheelchairs, walkers, and literally picking them up and physically removing them out of the danger.’
According to Trooper Steven Nevel – Public Information Officer for Troop F of the New York State Police, who spoke to CNN – one firefighter was missing for an hour inside the building. 
Firefighters work in extinguishing hotspots from a fire that burned down the Evergreen Court Home for Adults
Firefighters survey the smoldering remains of the nursing home in Spring Valley, New York on Tuesday
The fire swept through the suburban New York assisted living home and caused a partial collapse early Tuesda
More than 100 firefighters from some two dozen different departments responded to the blaze in Spring Valley on Tuesday
The building was considered ‘very old’ and ‘conducive to the rapid spread of fire,’ according to local officials
The image above shows the top two floors collapsed due to the fire that tore through the facility on Tuesday
As of 9am on Tuesday, the fire was not brought completely under control, according to local officials on the scene
Smoke is seen rising from the ruins of the nursing home that was destroyed by a fire in Spring Valley, New York on Tuesday
A firefighter surveys the damage caused by the fire at a nursing home in Spring Valley, New York on Tuesday
Fire crews are seen above at the scene of the blaze some seven hours after responding to initial reports of smoke coming from the building
It is unclear how many residents are unaccounted for, Nevel said, who added that another firefighter had suffered a heart attack and had been taken to hospital.
Eyewitness Mark Kennedy said that the fire had been ‘raging’, and that the building was ‘completely destroyed’, according to Insider.
‘The fire was probably raging for around two hours, or maybe more, before the building caved in,’ Kennedy told the outlet.
Belaaz noted that firefighters were called to the scene from as far away as North Jersey, and helicopter assistance was also present.
Video from the scene showed the nursing home engulfed in flames as emergency responders gathered in the parking lot.
Video from the scene showed the nursing home engulfed in flames as emergency responders gathered in the parking lot
Part of the building was shown collapsing in on itself in the video (pictured)
In footage taken following the reported explosion, parts of the building – including the roof and second floor – were shown collapsing as the fire continued to spread.
Another video showed a number of the care home’s residents on a bus as they were taken away from the scene, and was being used to allow relatives to identify them.
Local buses from the Jewish community were being used to keep elderly residents who had escaped the building warm, and to transport them to other locations.
According to a post on the ‘Rockland Fires’ Facebook page, the smell of something burning was fire reported, with the fire’s status soon being upgraded to a building fire by Spring Valley’s Police Department.
The nursing home’s website says the home is a senior care and assisted living facility with rooms for up to 200 residents.
The home is found at 65 Lafayette Street in Spring Valley, which is in Rockland County, New York.
Rockland County is in upstate New York, around 45 minutes away from New York City, and has a large Orthodox Jewish community.
‘The overnight fire at the Evergreen Court Home for Adults in Spring Valley in Rockland County is deeply alarming and earlier this morning I directed state agencies to assist in the emergency response,’ Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.
‘Department of Health staff are on site to ensure the safe, appropriate transfer of more than 100 residents to other facilities and facilitate proper notification of families.
‘DOH is in contact with multiple providers who have come forward with offers to accept residents and provide additional support as needed.
‘The Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ Office of Fire Prevention and Control has dispatched State Fire Investigators to assist in the investigation of the cause and origin of the fire, and State Police are on site to support evidence collection.
‘The State Office of Emergency Management is in contact with all responding agencies to support as needed.
‘On behalf of the family of New York, my heart breaks for those who lost loved ones in the fire, and we pray that anyone else involved is safe.
‘The State will continue providing whatever support is needed to ensure that happens.’
Anyone who wishes to reach us to inquire about a family member who may have been affected by the fire can call 973-378-1997 or email info@evergreencourtalp.com.
