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A father-and-son duo whose actions allegedly sparked a deadly nursing home fire in New York are among six people now facing charges in the blaze – which killed a volunteer firefighter and resident.
The duo were slapped with manslaughter and arson charges for the March 23 fire that tore through Evergreen Assisted Living Home in Spring Valley on March 23.
The two village building inspectors are accused of falsely filing reports to the state on fire inspection – and two others have warrants out for their arrests, including Evergreen’s director who will face a charge of reckless endangerment, Rockland County District Attorney Tom Walsh announced Tuesday.
Walsh shared few details of the investigation and wouldn’t discuss reports that said the building’s fire alarm may have been offline at the time the fire broke out. It allegedly had been disconnected due to a Kosher cleaning process that involved torching ovens, reports said.
Walsh said at a news conference that the sacrifice of volunteer firefighter Jared Lloyd, who perished in the fire, shouldn’t be forgotten.
“No investigation or prosecution can match their bravery in the face of that towering inferno,” Walsh told reporters. “We owe them justice and again we offer our condolences to their family.”
The investigation into the fire isn’t over yet, he said.
“Our goal as stated at our first press conference is and has remained crystal clear: to investigate the causes of the fire and to hold those responsible accountable while protecting the rights of all involved,” he said.
Accused of starting the fire are Nathaniel Sommer and his son Aaron Sommer, both of Rockland County, according to the DA. The elder Sommer is a rabbi and both had been hired by Evergreen as “independent contractors” for the kosher cleansing of the building ahead of the Passover holiday, lohud.com reported.
Spring Valley building inspectors Wayne Ballard and Raymond Canario were arrested for offering a false instrument and falsifying business records “associated with their government responsibilities,” the DA said.
Warrants were out for Evergreen director Denise Kerr and Manuel Lema, the latter of whom will face charges of criminal impersonation and obstructing governmental administration in connection with a call to the fire dispatch, the DA said.
Officials declined to describe the individuals’ exact roles related to the fire or even when the last fire inspections were filed for the building.
“We don’t want to get into any details until the matter has presented to the grand jury and perhaps not even until the trial,” Walsh said. “We don’t want to do anything today that would impede or impact adversely on the prosecution.”
Lee Vartan, a spokesperson for Evergreen, said in a statement to The Post that a lack of water pressure may have affected knocking down the fire.
“We know from our investigation that the facility’s fire mitigation systems were all operational and functioned as intended the night of the fire,” Vartan said.
“One thing we do not yet know is the extent to which the area’s historic water pressure problems prevented the fire from being contained. As a longstanding member of the community, we continue to make and support every effort to get to the bottom of this tragic loss of life.”
Lloyd, 35, a Queens native and volunteer with Columbia Fire Engine Co. 1 in the village, was said to be on the third floor of the building when it collapsed.
His body was pulled from the rubble the day after the fire, the same day of his son’s 6th birthday. Local firefighters did a drive-by birthday celebration for the boy, one of Lloyd’s two children.
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