NY Investigative Reporter Uncovers Decades of Fire Safety Violations

Spring Valley Firefighter Jared Lloyd died in 2021 trying to save victims from a blaze in an assisted living facility. 

Unfortunately, it didn't come as a complete shock to many in the community as nearly a decade ago fire officials in Rockland County had predicted someone would die as a result of safety issues, according to Tara Rosenblum, an investigative reporter at News12 Westchester.

She had hoped her probe of fire safety failures that sparked outrage in 2006 would lead to change. But, it didn't.

 "My son gave his life to save others. And I try to remind myself of that. It's a shame that it has to take a tragedy for it to come to light," Calvin Lloyd told Rosenblum.

After the fire that killed Lloyd and a resident, the station started getting tips including one that said the alarm system at Evergreen Court was turned off, possibly to prevent it from going off during a kosher ritual to prepare the kitchen for Passover.

The reporter acquired a letter that there were no building inspector reports from the Evergreen Court Home going back three years.

Six people were charged in connection to the fire. The most serious charges were filed against Nathaniel and Aaron Sommer, the rabbi and son independently hired to kosherize the kitchen for Passover. They were accused of turning off fire alarms at the time and leaving burning materials unattended - subsequently sparking the fire that killed Lloyd and a resident, Rosenblum reported.

Through Freedom of Information requests, she obtained thousands of pages of documents relating to building code and safety issue violations.