Team Probing Fatal Spring Valley Fire: Won't Rush To Conclusions

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — It will be weeks, even more than a month, before investigators determine the causes and origins of the fire at Evergreen Court Home for Adults that killed a resident and a firefighter March 23, according to William McGovern of the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control.

He was among several speakers at a news briefing Thursday who said they wanted to reassure the public, including friends and families of the dead and injured, that the investigation would be careful and complete.

However, the speakers said, they would not offer interim information on what they're finding out.

"This is an active criminal investigation which must not be jeopardized," said Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh.

The event at the Rockland County Fire Training Center in Pomona was hosted by the DA and was held in part to help those who are struggling to understand the process, Rockland County Executive Ed Day said, adding that "speculation would be irresponsible."

The investigation won't be rushed to make people happy, said Rockland County Sheriff Louis Falco. "We follow the facts, we follow the evidence." The findings will be turned over to the Spring Valley Police Department and the Rockland District Attorney's Office, he said.

A funeral for firefighter Jared Lloyd, who died rescuing residents, will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Palisades Credit Union Park Boulder Stadium in Pomona.

The Spring Valley Volunteer Fire Department was called at 1 a.m. for a smoke condition at the assisted living facility. They arrived to find a dangerous fire already lapping at the second and third stories. In all, 112 residents were rescued, some of them helped, some carried, some dragged. Several are still hospitalized.

As the fire consumed the building, a resident trapped in the blaze called 911. Lloyd and a few colleagues pushed their way to the third floor and located the victim, but on their way out conditions worsened and Lloyd was separated from his crew. His "Mayday" radio call was the last the department heard from him. Searchers found his body in the rubble 20 hours later.

The loss of life might have been much greater if not for the first responders, Walsh said.

Since then, officials have confirmed that the assisted living facility's fire alarm system was on "test" so that Rockland Fire Control wouldn't react to any false alarm generated during an annual ritual using high heat to clean the industrial ovens before Passover.

Friday, they did not take questions from the news media on that or any other issue.

Among the investigative team's tasks, McGovern said, were reviewing a lot of video surveillance footage plus and gathering and analyzing a lot of data including from utilities and the owners of the property.

McGovern, the Office of Fire Prevention and Control's chief investigator, said there had been questions about why so many agencies were involved in the probe.

"We just wanted to bring every resource to the table," he said, adding that the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives brought useful technical resources and engineers.

MORE READING:

• Fatal Fire: Sources Say Alarms Were Off For Pre-Passover Cleaning
• Funeral Set For Fallen Firefighter
• Grieving Community Turns To Action After Fatal Spring Valley Fire
• Community Mounts Birthday Parade For Firefighter's Son
• Spring Valley Fire: Firefighter's Body Recovered
• Spring Valley Fire: 1 Dead, 11 Hurt, Firefighter Missing