'A tragedy': 9 killed in fire at senior living facility in Massachusetts
FALL RIVER, MA – A blaze at an assisted living facility in Massachusetts killed at least nine people and injured over 30 others after it trapped residents inside, forcing first responders to kick down doors and pull screaming people out through windows.
Firefighters responded Sunday around 9:50 p.m. to Gabriel House assisted living facility in Fall River, about 50 miles south of Boston. Upon arrival, they saw the front of the building engulfed in flames and smoke, and began rescuing people while trying to quell the blaze.
Multiple people were declared dead at the scene while over 30 were rushed to area hospitals, including at least five firefighters with minor injuries. As of Monday evening, nine people were dead and one person was in critical condition, said Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon. Approximately 70 people lived in the building when the fire broke out.
Kerry Leckey lived in a first-floor apartment and fled the building using her walker. She was scrolling on her phone when she heard fire alarms ring out, and as she made her way out of the building she saw upper levels "completely engulfed in flames."
Everything in her apartment was destroyed and three of her friends are among the dead, she told the Herald News, part of the Paste BN Network.
“I’ve only been there two months but I met a handful of really nice people and became pretty close to them in a short period of time, and three of them are gone,” she said. “They passed in the fire.”
The cause of the incident remains unclear and is under investigation. However, the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that the fire "does not appear to be suspicious at this time."
Officials said the building owner has been cooperative and the facility will soon be boarded up.
"The fire at Gabriel House in Fall River is a tragedy," Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement. "My heart goes out to those who are waking up to the most horrific news imaginable about their loved ones this morning."
'Everything is gone, gone, gone'
Leckey said the fire at Gabriel House was “not just a tragedy, it’s a travesty."
She said the building was old and that there was not enough people on staff. It unknown how many staff were working the night of the fire.
The only thing she has from her apartment is her walker. She said she was lucky to still have that. "Everybody else’s medication, money – everything is gone, gone, gone," Leckey said.
As of Monday afternoon, she said she did not know where she would go next. A placement had not yet been arranged for her.
“I guess they’re working something out for people. But as of now, I have no idea. And that’s the worst part of all of it,” she said. “You just don't know what you’re going to do from here on out. But thank God there are good people around helping us.”
Resident says fire was an accident waiting to happen
The Timao Center, a community facility in Fall River used to help the homeless, was a hive of activity with volunteers finding clothes, food, canes and walkers for displaced Gabriel House residents.
Nurses were making phone calls to local pharmacies to arrange for replacement medications — any meds left behind in the blaze were removed by the fire department, Bacon said, and were unusable.
Donna Murphy, who has lived at the facility for five years, said she was at her granddaughter’s house the night of the fire, which she described as an accident waiting to happen. Murphy said multiple people in the building smoke in violation of rules and use prohibited devices.
“There’s oxygen tanks, people smoking. … There’s toasters, people have got fryolators … microwaves,” Murphy told the Herald News, while smoking a cigarette.
She also referred to maintenance trouble, recalling a recent 8-month period where the elevator was broken and she had to crawl up the stairs to her room. Murphy said the fire destroyed all her belongings and that she planned to move in with her family.
At the community center, she struggled to remember her litany of medications to be replaced.
What we know about possible cause of deadly Fall River fire
While inspectors worked to pinpoint what led to the fire, officials have begun describing potential hazards in the building when the blaze broke out.
At a news conference, Bacon noted the presence of “several” oxygen tanks, which are commonly used by elderly residents and can be fire hazards. However, the chief said they were “irrelevant to the fire at this time" and cited an ongoing investigation headed by the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services.
What is Gabriel House in Fall River?
The Gabriel House assisted living facility opened in 1999 and is made up of 100 units, according to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Aging & Independence.
Gabriel House's website says is meant for people 55 and older, and that it provides a range of care for residents with diseases such as diabetes or those who struggle to control their bodily functions.
It remains unknown if Gabriel House had and followed an evacuation plan. The building's owner Dennis Etzkorn has not responded to multiple requests for comment from the Herald News, part of the Paste BN Network. Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan said Gabriel House – like all the city’s nursing facilities – are on the city’s radar for health and safety inspections, but he did not describe what recent inspections showed.
"We know this building," Coogan said. "We know it well. We work with the staff here and the management to try to make sure if they need help, we’re here for them.”
Firefighters carried residents out of burning building
Bacon at a news conference described the chaotic scene that saw residents begging for help and "hanging out of windows looking to be rescued." He said firefighters and police pulled dozens of people to safety, squeezing them through small windows or breaking down doors and carrying residents – some of whom were in wheelchairs – out of the building.
The number of window air conditioning units made rescues difficult and forced first responders to use smaller windows to pull people out, Bacon said.
The chief added that the fire damage was limited to one wing of the building, but that smoke had engulfed the facility's interior, likely leading to deaths and dozens of injuries.
"The fire attack was very quick, it was just a very smokey fire," said Bacon.
Who died in the fire? Officials release names of residents killed
The Bristol County District Attorney's Office identified seven of the nine victims of the Gabriel House fire. The office has not yet confirmed the names of a 70-year-old woman and a 77-year-old man who died in the fire, saying their next of kin notifications were pending.
- Rui Albernaz, 64
- Ronald Codega, 61
- Margaret Duddy, 69
- Robert King, 78
- Kim Mackin, 71
- Richard Rochon, 78
- Eleanor Willett, 86
Evacuees left behind medicine amid frantic escape
The building's many evacuees were taken to the city's homeless overflow shelter, where city staff and others were assisting them with getting medicine, clothes and other belongings they had to leave behind in the frantic evacuation.
Coogan, the mayor of Fall River, said all the assisted living facility’s medical records were in file folders that survived the blaze.“We just carried out a bunch of medical records,” Bacon told reporters. “The room they were stored in was salvaged, so we were able to get all those records down so they can get medications for all the displaced people.”