Spring Valley Mourns: Jared Lloyd, 15 Year SVFD Veteran, Perished in Evergreen Court Fire

At 10:30 this morning Rockland County Fire Coordinator Chris Kear and County Executive Ed Day officially confirmed that Rockland County has lost one of its heroes.

Jared Lloyd, a 15-year veteran of the Spring Valley Fire Department, was among the very first responders to the inferno sparked at 12:52 AM on Tuesday. Lloyd and his fellow firefighters successfully evacuated an estimated 112 elderly and disabled residents from The Evergreen Court Adult Home in Spring Valley, before the blaze caused the collapse of the structure.

Lloyd was separated from his unit while responding to calls for help in a third floor stairwell of the building. Kear reported that the firefighter called a mayday when attempting to rescue one of the residents, signaling his fellow responders to assist him: unfortunately, conditions inside the home made it impossible to locate  Lloyd, and responders were forced to call off the search due to the extreme danger of the situation.

At 11:52 PM that same day, after “painstakingly” excavating and searching the ruined facility, emergency services recovered a body “in the general area that we felt (Lloyd) would be found” according to Kear. That body was transported to the county medical examiner’s office, where DNA testing will confirm their identity.

Two firefighters were injured during the rescue and admitted to a nearby hospital. Kear dispelled rumors that one of the responders suffered a heart-attack and confirmed that one of the firefighters has been released from the hospital while another was kept overnight due to a high concentration of carbon monoxide in their blood.

Thanks to their heroic efforts, only one unidentified male resident of the home lost their life in the unprecedented disaster. A total of thirteen residents were transported to area hospitals following their rescue, and one remains in critical condition. Many residents were treated at the scene and evacuated to other local nursing facilities. According to Evergreen Director, Denise Kerr, all the facility’s residents have been accounted for.