Left: Rabbi Daniel Sommer, left, and his son Aaron Sommer. Right: Sabrail Davenport, mother of firefighter Jared Lloyd, who died in a blaze that erupted after the Sommers were performing a religious ritual with a blowtorch in the kitchen of an adult home in March 2021.
The father and son behind a fatal fire that destroyed a senior living center have pleaded guilty, but they will not face any time behind bars.
Rabbi Daniel Sommer, 72, and his son Aaron Sommer, 29, were using a blowtorch to ritually cleanse the kitchen of the Evergreen Court for Adults ahead of the Passover holiday in March 2021. According to a report from the New York Department of Public Service, the blowtorch usage “caused a fire to build within the wall and ceiling about the kitchen, erupting into ‘a raging inferno’ and spreading to adjacent portions of the facility.” Resident Oliver Hueston, 79, and volunteer firefighter Jared Lloyd, 35, were killed in the ensuing blaze.
The Sommers were charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, arson, assault resulting in serious injury with a weapon, and reckless endangerment.
On Tuesday, both father and son pleaded guilty in a Spring Valley courtroom, according to a report from New York NBC News affiliate WNBC. Daniel Sommer, who is identified in court documents as Nathaniel Sommer, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree manslaughter. His son pleaded guilty to one count of reckless endangerment. According to WNBC, the elder Sommer will serve five years of probation, while Aaron Sommer will serve three years of probation.
Both men are set to be officially sentenced in September. Rockland County Court Judge Kevin Russo said he intends to issue sentences that would require no jail time, according to a report from New York ABC News affiliate WABC.
Spring Valley is located around 30 miles north of New York City.
News of the plea deal was met with dismay and frustration from first responders and one of the victim’s families. Lloyd, a volunteer firefighter, reportedly rushed into the burning building to rescue residents and is believed to have become disoriented, unable to find his way out, WABC reported. He issued a call for help, but other firefighters were unable to rescue him.
“Probation,” a distraught Sabrail Davenport, Lloyd’s mother, said outside the courthouse, according to WABC. “Probation, five years and three years, and $350.”
As part of the deal, the Sommers will reportedly have to pay a $350 fine, according to WABC.
“It’s a slap in the face to firefighters across the whole United States, its a shame,” Jared’s stepfather John Davenport said, according to the WABC report.
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County Executive Ed Day also expressed disgust at the outcome.
“As a former first responder I am appalled at the fact that the Lloyd and Hurston families will not get the justice they deserve, as the reports are indicating the two people responsible for this deadly blaze will likely not face any jail time for their reckless and felonious behavior,” Day said Monday in a statement posted to the Rockland County website.
Day said that he has “no part” in the decision and that he has spoken “at length” with Lloyd’s family.
“There is an unanimity in their position that regardless if there is a guilty verdict by plea or by trial that some jail time is warranted,” the statement said. “Their position is that the victims are serving a death sentence and the families are serving a life sentence. With that they tell me that closure and justice will not be achieved without a jail sentence for the guilty parties.”
Day said that he “fully and unequivocally” supports the family’s position, adding that the anger over the plea deal deserves a response.
“As a retired member of law enforcement, I have seen and understand that sometimes the judicial system this country was built on falls short of what we’d like,” he said. “I feel the same anger as everyone else and encourage everyone to direct their questions to the prosecution and judge in hopes of garnering answers.”
Orthodox Jews have long used fire to “cleanse” a kitchen ahead of the Passover holiday, when foods containing leavened grains — such as bread — are avoided. Using a blowtorch is believed to be a way to truly cleanse a kosher kitchen of any remains of such products.
Two city building inspectors were also initially charged in the fire at the care center, which an area Patch report described as being widely considered a “death trap.” That case was dismissed earlier this year.
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