Five dead, including two people under 18, in Spring Valley house fire
SPRING VALLEY, N.Y. -- Flames tore through a Spring Valley home early Saturday morning, killing five people, including two children, and injuring several others.
Bright orange flames shot out of the home on South Lake Street around 4 a.m. Fire crews arrived within minutes of receiving the call, but the flames were no match, even for firefighters.
"Multiple efforts were made to try to get into building, but with the extent of the fire, the conditions weren't good. It was impossible," Rockland County Fire Coordinator Chris Kear said.
An exterior operation had to be done before going inside to search for trapped residents.
"I'm scared because in the street, there's a lot of people just talking very high, you know. And the way I wake up, I'm scared," neighbor Edgar Inguez said.
He says he had to leave his home with his family for his safety.
"I come out. I see a lot of people over there saying, jump, jump from the window," Inguez said.
Fire officials say multiple people were trapped inside.
"One person actually jumped out of second-floor rear window," Kear said.
Verona Turner and her family lived on the first floor. Her sister, Sandra, told CBS2 over the phone, they were the lucky ones.
"Everybody made it out safe, and thank God for that," she said. "They had to run out in that ice rain with just what they had on their backs, their PJs ... They're traumatized, but they're good."
But five people, including two kids, who lived on the second floor didn't survive.
"The victims were found -- three were found on the second floor in different areas, and two were found on the first level. We believe they were found on the first level due to a collapse of the second floor," Kear said.
CBS2 has learned the home did have code violations back in 2021, including one for lack of smoke detectors, but the violations were corrected.
"Hearing somebody pass away from a fire? Oh my god. It's just ridiculous," a neighbor said.
This is the second fire in Spring Valley in recent years.
In March 2021, a firefighter and resident at a nearby assisted living facility died after it went up in flames.
READ MORE: Rockland DA: 6 Charged In Spring Valley Blaze That Killed Volunteer Firefighter Jared Lloyd
"Not too long ago, we had a fire. Now we have another one again. So my heart goes out to everyone, the family members," said Zach Clerina, Village Spring Valley trustee.
A firefighter was also injured in Saturday's blaze but is expected to be OK.
The cause remains under investigation.
In the meantime, the Red Cross is assisting those who have been displaced.
Red Cross assisting 4 families
The Red Cross says they are assisting 16 people from four families after Saturday's fire.
They say they helped those affected find and book hotel rooms and provided emergency financial assistance.
The Red Cross will also be connecting families with additional services, such as trained mental health professionals.
2 children, 3 adults killed in house fire
Five people were killed when a fire broke out in a Rockland County home early Saturday morning, and several more were injured.
Officials say two kids were among those who died, and six others were hurt, including a firefighter. The heartbreak could be felt across Spring Valley.
The fast-moving fire ripped through the Spring Valley home around 4 a.m.
"They had multiple people that were trapped in the building," Rockland County Fire Coordinator Chris Kear said.
Two families were sleeping inside the home on South Lake Street at the time.
"Sadly we had five fatalities we that can confirm now, two under the age of 18," said Rockland County Executive Ed Day.
Firefighters say the blaze was so fierce they had to fight the fire with an exterior operation before going inside to search for trapped residents.
"Multiple efforts were made to try to get into building, but with the extent of the fire, the conditions weren't good. It was impossible," Kear said.
At least one person jumped out of the window to escape the fire.
"There was mad intense fire just coming from right in the middle, so it burned from the middle and just came straight out the top," neighbor Cleavon Campbell said.
Charred debris was all that was left of the two-story home Saturday afternoon as six others, including a firefighter, recover at the hospital.
"Hearing somebody pass away from a fire? Oh my god. It's just ridiculous," a neighbor said.
"We are here for a tragedy. We'd like to first express our condolences," Spring Valley Police Chief Rich Oleszczuk said.
We are still waiting to learn more about the victims and the conditions of those survived.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
In 2021, the building was cited for not having smoke detectors, Day said, but it's unknown if there were working detectors at the time of the fire.
"At one time there were no smoke detectors and according to the inquiry that was made, the municipal search, that matter was corrected," said Day.
In the meantime, the Red Cross is helping those who no longer have a place to call home.
At least 5 killed in house fire
At least five people were killed and others were injured in a house fire early Saturday morning in Spring Valley.
The fire was reported just after 4 a.m. at a two-family home on Lake Street. It was under control about 40 minutes later, officials said at a news conference.
"We had five people injured, they were taken to local hospitals. We sadly had five fatalities and we can confirm now two of them are people under 18 years of age. One firefighter was injured. Thankfully it was a minor injury, he was treated at the scene," said Rockland County Executive Ed Day.
Three victims were found on the second floor. Two were found on the first level after part of the second floor collapsed, an official said.
The Red Cross is assisting those affected by the fire, but it was not immediately clear how many people were inside the home.
"That's a matter that is still under investigation. There were people who left the scene, so we are not clear on that. But this is something that the police department is following up on right now as part of their investigation into the matter," said Day.
In 2021, the building was cited for not having smoke detectors, Day said.
"At one time there were no smoke detectors and according to the inquiry that was made, the municipal search, that matter was corrected," said Day.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.