SPRING VALLEY – One Spring Valley firefighter is unaccounted for in the massive blaze that destroyed the Evergreen Adult Home on Lafayette Street in the village overnight Tuesday morning.
The firefighter was on the third floor of the of the three-story building in the process of rescuing residents when the section of the building collapsed, said Rockland County Fire Coordinator Chris Kear. (Watch video of news conference)
Firefighters rescued between 20 and 30 residents, he said. Between 100 and 125 people are believed to have lived there.
He said excavation equipment was removing the debris piece by piece looking for any victims.
Two firefighters were taken to the hospital with one released and the other kept overnight.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation.
County Executive Ed Day called the fire “a day of pain.”
Fire departments from Rockland and Bergen counties fought the blaze with Westchester departments on standby. The FDNY and Yonkers Fire Department dispatched mobile emergency response units to the scene.
(videos: Mark Lieb, Rockland Video Productions)
