By Canadian Press

Firefighter trapped in assisted living home blaze found dead

Mar 24, 2021 | 5:40 AM

SPRING VALLEY, N.Y. — A firefighter who was trapped in a blaze that swept through a suburban New York assisted living home was found dead Wednesday, a day after the fire caused a partial collapse of the building and killed one resident, officials said.

The rescue was hampered Tuesday by the intensity of the smouldering wreckage. Officials searched into the night for the missing firefighter, who was last heard from when he was trapped in the flames at the Evergreen Court Home for Adults in the Rockland County community of Spring Valley.

Officials did not immediately identify the firefighter or the resident who was killed in the blaze.

“This is an extraordinarily difficult time for the fire services within Rockland County,” Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann wrote in a Facebook post. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the bravest and the fellow firefighters of Spring Valley who lost a brother.”

Officials planned a briefing for later Wednesday.

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Two other firefighters and about 20 residents were taken to hospitals, some with serious injuries, officials said.

The home, which is located about 30 miles (48 kilometres) north of New York City, housed 112 residents, according to its operator.

Investigators are still investigating the cause of the fire.

The Associated Press