'You could hear the screams': 2 minors among 5 killed in horrific fire that tore through NY multifamily home
ROCKLAND COUNTY, NEW YORK: A multifamily house in Rockland County caught fire early in the morning, killing at least five people, including two minors, and injuring several others, according to authorities. On late Saturday, March 4, flames had ripped through the rear of the two-story, off-white house, leaving the front nearly completely blackened. The clapboard walls and roughly half of the top of the house were destroyed.
According to officials, firefighters were summoned to the two-family Lake Street house in the village of Spring Valley at 4.03 am. The fire was deemed contained at 4.40 am. According to Rockland County Fire Coordinator Christopher Kear, they made numerous efforts to access the building and help the people who were trapped inside, but it was "impossible" at first because of the initial fire conditions.
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'There was a lot of collateral as part of the incident'
Firefighters could only begin looking for the missing residents after the flames were put out. "Sadly, there was a lot of collateral as part of the incident," County Executive Ed Day stated. According to Kear, two victims were discovered on the first floor and three victims on the second floor, most likely as a result of the second floor falling, as reported by New York Post. The victims' identities have not yet been disclosed. Five additional people were hurt and taken to a local hospital. One of the firefighters who responded to the fire suffered a slight injury and was treated on the spot. According to Kear, the injured people were discovered outside the building. One had leaped from a window on the second floor. It was unclear how many individuals were residing in the building. Although the victims' relationship with one another is unclear, the county executive stated that they are likely related.
'You could hear the screams'
A family member who came to the scene told Fox 5 News, that this was an immigrant family from Guatemala. "It was just mad, intense fire just coming right to minutes, so it burned from the middle and just came straight out the top," said the man. Victor Geronimo who lives across the street says "you could hear the screams. It was heartbreaking to see all this."
What did Rockland County do?
Saturday's fire happened just a few miles away from the location of the March 2021 huge explosion at the Evergreen Court Home for Adults, which killed one resident and one volunteer firefighter. As a consequence of the massive fire, Rockland County took over Spring Valley's building inspections.
What did Spring Valley Village Trustee say?
Ed Markunas, head of the county's Office of Buildings and Codes, stated that the Lake Street building had earlier been marked for a number of violations, which were later corrected during the building's most recent inspection. Zach Clerina, a trustee for Spring Valley Village, told New York Post that his community was once again dealing with a fatal fire disaster despite the county being given control over the village's building inspections. "The county took over and then we’re supposed to have some type of relief," he stated. "Things like that are not supposed to repeat [so] soon like this. It’s too fast."