State Reports On Problems At Fatal Nursing Home Fire In Rockland

SPRING VALLEY, NY — Investigators concluded that low water pressure from fire hydrants during the fatal blaze at the Evergreen Home For Adults in 2021 was not due to problems or issues with the supplier, SUEZ, according to a new report from the New York Public Service Commission.

In fact, DPS staff concluded that "multiple simultaneous withdrawals from the same main was a contributing factor to the diminished flow during the later phases of the response to the Evergreen fire."

They pointed out that "an extraordinary amount of water was pumped to the area where the Evergreen Facility is located during the early morning hours of March 23." Contemporaneous records showed that SUEZ maintained an adequate supply of water at the storage tank feeding the Spring Valley area including Lafayette Street, they said.

The report succinctly lays out the apparent cause of the fire that killed a resident and a firefighter: "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."

Resident Oliver Hueston, 79, and firefighter Jared Lloyd, 35, died. Lloyd, who repeatedly entered the building and rescued residents, sent out a Mayday call from an upper floor before it collapsed, but he could not be reached.

Rabbis Nathaniel and Aaron Sommer face charges of manslaughter, negligent homicide, second- assault; arson; and reckless endangerment. Their attorneys tried to have the indictment dropped, saying the father and son had performed the same ritual at Evergreen 17 times before, but Judge Kevin Russo upheld it in September, The Journal News reported.

The PSC also noted in the executive summary that

Beyond the responsibilities and obligations of SUEZ, 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 Evergreen Home, a converted hotel built in 1903, had been commonly considered a death trap.

It took more than a year to do the investigation, the PSC report said, not just because investigators needed to not interfere with the Rockland County District Attorney's prosecutions, but also because documents about the Evergreen Home were difficult to obtain because of Spring Valley's problems. Read the report here on the PSC website.

Those problems caused the New York State Department in March 2022 to order Rockland County officials to temporarily assume responsibility for code inspections and enforcement in the village. That order, the first of its kind in New York, came a day after the head of Spring Valley's building department and one of its inspectors were indicted in the Evergreen fire investigation. Wayne Ballard and Raymond Canario were accused of filing false reports to the state about inspections at Evergreen Court. Their trial was put off until 2023, News 12 reported.

SEE ALSO:

• Probes Continue 1 Year After Fatal Adult Home Fire
• Adult Home Fire: Manslaughter, Arson, False Report Charges
• Village Hall Raided In Investigation Of Fatal Nursing Home Fire
• Street To Be Renamed In Memory Of Firefighter Jared Lloyd
• Rabbis Indicted Over Fatal Adult Home Fire