9 killed, over 30 injured in fire at assisted living facility in Massachusetts

Nine people were killed and more than 30 others were hospitalized after a fire tore through an assisted living facility in Fall River, Massachusetts, according to officials.

The fire broke out shortly after 9:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Gabriel House facility on Oliver Street. Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said firefighters responded to an automatic alarm and arrived to find flames coming from the front door and residents trapped inside.

“There were multiple victims hanging out the windows, screaming and begging for help to be rescued,” Bacon said.

Firefighters made entry and began rescues while working to contain the blaze. At least a dozen people were rescued using ladders, and more than 30 were taken to area hospitals with varying conditions. One person remains in critical condition.

Five firefighters were also taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and have since been released.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said nearly 70 people were housed in the facility and that most of them needed assistance.

“Many of them were in wheelchairs, many of them were immobile, many had oxygen tanks,” Healey said during a briefing. “It’s horrifying to think what happened in the middle of the night, people just scrambling as best they could to get out through windows.” She added, “If it were not for [the first responders], we would have seen an even far and unimaginable loss of life here.”

The blaze reached five alarms and drew about 50 firefighters, including 30 off-duty personnel. The fire was contained to one wing of the building, but smoke filled the entire structure. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by local and state agencies.

Edward Kelly, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, criticized staffing levels at the Fall River Fire Department, noting that only two of the city’s ten fire companies are staffed at national standards.

“There is no doubt that would have made a difference in the amount of people we lost in this fire tonight,” Kelly said. “They didn’t have adequate equipment, didn’t have breathing apparatus, didn’t have personal protective equipment, yet put their lives at risk.”

Michael O’Regan, president of the Fall River firefighters union, said: “We did the best we could with what we had, and what we had was not enough.”