Firefighter missing and resident dead after nursing home collapses in fierce blaze

The search has begun for a firefighter who went missing while battling an inferno at a New Yorknursing home which has left at least one resident confirmed dead.

Firefighters in Rockland County, about 30 miles north of New York City, battled the blaze for hours early on Tuesday morning after it erupted at the Evergreen Court Home for Adults in Spring Valley about 1.40 am, according to WNBC reports.

The outlet reported that the nursing home's upper floor collapsed in the blaze, which injured an additional two firefighters, according to CBS New York.

One was treated at Hackensack University Medical Center and released while another was kept overnight at Westchester Medical Center for smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide exposure but is expected to recover, according to NBC4 New York.

Video shared online shows thick black smoke billowing from intense flames, while by morning the home was a pile of smouldering rubble.

As many as 25 residents reported by ABC7 as rescued from the building were evacuated to the nearby Golden Acre Rest Home, according to witness Benny Polatsek.

About 120 people live at the 200-bed home, and officials were still determining how many were in the building at the time of the fire, according to NBC News.

Rockland County fire official Christopher Kear told the outlet that several residents had serious injuries. The missing firefighter, one of the first on the scene, "got lost in the conditions" while entering the third floor in an attempt to rescue someone.

While he transmitted a mayday, other firefighters were unable to respond in time to rescue him. A mini excavator will be used to clear the rubble as first responders continue the search, ABC7 reported.

More than 100 firefighters responded, he said. It was too early to determine the cause of the fire.