Community leaders offered a video of the solemn procession carrying his body to the doctor’s office.
Clarkstown supervisor George Hoehmann said today at a press conference he will reveal “more about this wonderful volunteer firefighter who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the service of others.”
The firefighter, who has not been publicly identified, died along with a resident after flames erupted inside the Evergreen Adult Court on Lafayette Street shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday.
Part of the building collapsed when firefighters battled the blaze.
A firefighter rushed into the burning building to rescue residents and officials believe he became disoriented and could not find the way out.
1 dead, firefighter missing after massive fire at New York assisted living home
He was one of the first on the scene and broadcast one May day, but other firefighters were unable to rescue him.
Between 20 and 25 residents were rescued by firefighters from what was described as a chaotic scene.
Ten were taken to hospitals in the area for treatment and one was later pronounced dead.
Two other firefighters were injured, one of whom appeared to have suffered a medical condition, possibly a heart attack. The other was treated and released.
All Rockland County firefighters are volunteers. When they are not running their lives, they are postal workers, bakers, police officers and small business owners.
Many displaced residents were transported by bus to nearby facilities.
One resident was initially reported missing, but all residents have been counted since then.
It took more than six hours to control the fire and firefighters spent the day battling “a ton of hot spots” and struggling with water supply problems.
The facility, which offers assisted living, facilities for the elderly and continued care for older adults, is a total loss.
Denise Kerr, director of the Evergreen Court Adult Home, released the following statement on Tuesday:
“This is an indescribable tragedy at Evergreen Court Home and our hearts and our prayers to all the people and families who have been affected. We join the community in mourning the loss of our deceased resident and pray for safety. of the missing firefighter We are fully cooperating with all state and local authorities in the investigation of this fire and we are also conducting our own internal investigation.Our staff was truly heroic in the evacuation of residents who were in the interior of the building as the fire spread and we are always grateful to the first to respond whose actions undoubtedly saved lives.All 112 Evergreen Court Home residents have been counted and have been located in a new home.We are currently in the process of contacting their families.a family member can call 973-378-1997 or email [email protected]. “
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