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SPRING VALLEY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — A firefighter’s body has been recovered following a devastating fire at an assisted living facility in Rockland County.
Rockland County Human Rights Commissioner Rabbi Yisroel Kahan identified the firefighter as Jared Lloyd, a 15-year volunteer with the Spring Valley Fire Department who rushed into the raging inferno to save trapped residents, but quickly became trapped himself.
WATCH: Rockland Officials Provide Update On Fatal Spring Valley Fire
Lloyd made a “mayday” call for help, but smoke and flames prevented rescuers from reaching him.
For hours into the night, firefighters with flashlights could be seen combing through the rubble searching for him. They finally recovered the fallen hero nearly 24 hours after he went missing.
24 hours after the horrific fire broke out, the body of @RocklandGov Firefighter Jared Loyd has been recovered.
REST IN PEACE pic.twitter.com/xu9abxhwGZ
— Rabbi Yisroel Kahan ?? (@ykahan) March 24, 2021
“As conditions worsened, they had to pull themselves out of the building for their own safety sake,” Rockland County Fire Coordinator Chris Kear said Tuesday. “It’s gut wrenching.”
The fire broke out around 1 a.m. Tuesday at the Evergreen Court Home for Adults. Ten residents were rushed to nearby hospitals, where one died.
A somber moment, as the remains of #SpringValley Firefighter Jared Lloyd is escorted to the Medical Examiner.#RIP HERO?? pic.twitter.com/k5gRFteheG
— Rabbi Yisroel Kahan ?? (@ykahan) March 24, 2021
Garfield Bryan, an administrator at the facility, said his staff heroically rushed the residents out.
“People [were] all over the place. It quickly started to look like a war zone. More firetrucks started coming in,” he said. “That’s when we realized that potentially there could be more residents on the right side of the building.”
As firefighters bravely battled the flames, volunteers from local Jewish agencies also helped relocate residents to safety.
“They were speechless,” said witness Hershy Green. “Watching their facility, their home, going down in flames was something really traumatic.”
“It was a community effort, I want to say, saving those lives,” Bryan added.
It was a night of chaos, heroism and heartbreak for residents who lost a neighbor and the first responders who lost a colleague.
CBS2’s Christina Fan contributed to this report.
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