A New York firefighter is missing after a massive fire at an assisted living center that injured two firefighters and left at least one person dead early Tuesday.
The fire broke out at about 1:30 a.m. at the Evergreen Court Home for Adults in Spring Valley, WCBS-TV reports. A group of community volunteers arrived quickly after the fire erupted, and they began helping residents out of the burning facility.
“There (were) plenty of good Samaritans out here—probably eight of them—that literately ran into the building and (brought) them out in their wheelchairs, walkers, or literately picking them up and physically removing them out of the danger,” Hershy Green, a witness to the fire, told WCBS.
Explosions could be heard erupting inside the building, and flames collapsed parts of the facility. A mayday was called during the fire, but firefighters were unable to reach their colleague, who was on the third floor and is still missing.
"We've got to start pulling it back, and peeling it layer by layer, and hopefully he'll be recovered," Rockland County Emergency Director Chris Kear said at a press conference, according WNBC-TV. An excavator was at the scene to help remove debris.
Two firefighters were injured battling the fire. No details were given concerning the extent of the injuries or if they were sustained during the mayday.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
