Fire in Spring Valley displaced at least 86 residents at Slinn Ave. apartments

SPRING VALLEY - An early morning blaze on Sunday destroyed numerous apartments and displaced at least 86 people at the Surrey Carlton Apartment on Slinn Avenue.

The flames brought more than 50 firefighters from 15 Rockland departments to the complex after 4 a.m. Sunday, fire officials said on Monday. One firefighter suffered a minor injury.

Officials said the fire had been burning in one attic and went undetected for about two hours before Rockland fire authorities were alerted.

The complex's fire notification system is not hooked into the attics and when activated, first alerted a private command center, not the county's fire communications center, causing the delay, officials said. Fire officials estimated the fire may have started at 2 a.m.

"We responded to a major fire that was burning for several hours," Spring Valley Fire Chief Ray Canario said. "We got dispatched after 4 o'clock. The alarm system first went to a private monitor before we learned of the fire."

The county's 44 Control record shows the fire was called in at 4:34 a.m. Officials said firefighters brought the fire under control several hours later.

Canario said the cause of the fire is under investigation. He said the attics were not occupied with people, meeting fire and safety codes. The fire is believed to have started on the top floor of 17 Slinn.

One Nanuet firefighter suffered minor injuries when sheetrock from a ceiling collapsed on him, Canario said. The firefighter was treated at a hospital and released.

The fire emergency led to seven buildings with up to eight apartments in each being evacuated. The buildings and apartments are attached so the fire spread through the buildings.

Up to 20 apartments were left uninhabitable, with six to eight units gutted at 17 and 19 Slinn Ave., officials said. Firefighters had to cut open the ceiling at 15 Slinn to stop the fire from spreading, officials said. Apartments at 21 Slinn suffered smoke damage and were being cleared.

Tenants could return to several of the apartments. But as of Monday, the displaced tenants were getting services from the American Red Cross at the Louis Kurtz Community Center on Main Street.

The village government and the American Red Cross opened the shelter on Sunday.

The Red Cross is working with emergency management and government officials to support the residents of the seven buildings that were evacuated, The Red Cross news release stated the agency had registered 63 adults and 23 children for emergency assistance.

Before opening the shelter, the Red Cross provided food and water for those displaced at the Spring Valley Police Department.

Retired Spring Valley Fire Inspector Frank Youngman said firefighters had responded to a fire in the same area of the building in December. He said fire communications problems existed then. Youngman responded to Sunday's blaze as a member of the Hillcrest Fire Department.

Youngman said the attics are not connected directly to the alarm system so time passed before the private company got notified when smoke and fire set off the system and called 44 Control. He worked with the new owners and management team last year to connect the complex to 44 Control. He said the process takes time.

He said some of the apartments only had smoke damage and tenants should eventually be allowed to move back in.

"The problem is the fire itself started up in the attic where there is no alarm system," Youngman said. "It takes time for the smoke then to set off the alarm."

Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com Twitter: @lohudlegal

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This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Fire in Spring Valley apartments displaced at least 86 residents