Rockland County Exec Decries Evergreen Court Fire Plea Deal Report

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — Reports of a plea deal for the father and son rabbis charged with starting the deadly blaze at the Evergreen Court Home for Adults in 2021 drew an angry response from the Rockland County Executive and plans to protest by local firefighters and their supporters.

Fire Lieut. Jared Lloyd, 35, and resident Oliver Hueston, 79, died. Rabbis Nathaniel and Aaron Sommer were charged with manslaughter, negligent homicide, second-degree assault, arson, and reckless endangerment.

They are due in court Tuesday morning.

"As a former first responder I am appalled at the fact that the Lloyd and Hurston families will not get the justice they deserve, as the reports are indicating the two people responsible for this deadly blaze will likely not face any jail time for their reckless and felonious behavior," Rockland County Executive Ed Day said in a statement Monday.

A state report released in January succinctly laid out the apparent cause of the fire that killed Lloyd and Hueston, destroyed the facility and displaced more than 100 residents: "the reckless and unpermitted use of a blow torch with a 20-pound propane tank and the use and conveyance of multiple large shovelfuls of hot burning coals into the facility during a ritual cleansing in preparation for an upcoming religious holiday conducted in the Evergreen Facility’s dairy kitchen ultimately which caused a fire to build within the wall and ceiling above the kitchen, erupting into 'a raging inferno' and spreading to adjacent portions of the facility."

Supporters of Columbian Engine Co. No 1, where Lloyd was a volunteer, plan to protest outside the courthouse in New City starting at 8:15 a.m. Lloyd repeatedly entered the building and rescued residents, before sending out a Mayday call from an upper floor as it collapsed.

Day also said:

While I have no part in this decision, I have spoken at length with the family of Fire Lieutenant Jared Lloyd. There is an unanimity in their position that regardless if there is a guilty verdict by plea or by trial that some jail time is warranted. Their position is that the victims are serving a death sentence and the families are serving a life sentence. With that they tell me that closure and justice will not be achieved without a jail sentence for the guilty parties. I fully and unequivocally support the family’s position. As a retired member of law enforcement, I have seen and understand that sometimes the judicial system this country was built on falls short of what we’d like. I feel the same anger as everyone else and encourage everyone to direct their questions to the prosecution and judge in hopes of garnering answers.

Attorneys for the rabbis had tried unsuccessfully to have the charges dropped, saying the father and son had performed the same ritual at Evergreen 17 times before, but Judge Kevin Russo upheld it in 2022.

Earlier in 2023, Russo dismissed cases against former Spring Valley Building Inspector Wayne Ballard and former Spring Valley Building Inspector Ray Canario. Both had been charged in connection with the fire at the facility,a century-old hotel commonly considered a death trap.

As the New York State Public Service Commission noted in its report:

Staff’s review of subpoenaed documents from Rockland County and the Village of Spring Valley highlighted a history of building and fire code violations at the Evergreen Facility, dating back to the 1960’s, including faults in the fire suppression systems, inadequate evacuation infrastructure such as emergency lights and fire escapes, and unlicensed contractors performing plumbing and construction work. Further, the Village of Spring Valley was unable to produce records more recent than 2016. During its review of the documents that were produced, Staff observed instances of unresolved violations or recurring violations. These findings seem to indicate serious issues with local building and fire code compliance, a lack of proper code enforcement and oversight, and inadequate record keeping on the part of the Village of Spring Valley, which may be the subject of other ongoing investigations.

The prosecution had argued that Ballard and Canario knowingly filed false reports to the state about inspections at Evergreen Court. The defense argued that the prosecution had not proved deliberate fraud, and the judge agreed.

SEE ALSO:

Evergreen Court Home's Owners Plan To Rebuild

Rockland Rabbis Avoid Jail Time In Fatal Fire Plea Deal