‘Unspeakable tragedy’: Officials investigating cause of deadly Fall River assisted living fire

FALL RIVER, Mass. (WLNE) — Nine people are dead and about 30 people are in the hospital after a devastating fire at the Gabriel House assisted living facility Sunday night.

Officials believe the cause of the deadly fire at Gabriel House in was likely either electrical or mechanical.

An official told ABC6 News that investigators will need to tear apart walls and wiring once it’s safe to do so to determine the official cause and origin of the fire.

At this very early stage of the investigation, the fire does not seem to be intentional.

Fire officials said victims are being treated at Saint Anne’s and Charlton Memorial Hospitals in Fall River, Saint Luke’s in New Bedford and some victims have been transported to Rhode Island Hospital.

Some of those victims took personal cars to the hospital so the numbers of those injured may change as more information is available.

The charring is mainly at the entry of the facility on Oliver Street.

The fire chief said that although the flames were mostly contained to one wing of the building, and the real issue was the smoke.

The fire chief confirmed the building does have sprinklers and smoke detectors but it’s not clear if all systems were working properly at the time.

The facility had 100 units and 70 residents lived there at the time of Sunday night’s fire.

The building is currently being cleared out.

Firefighters are removing and disposing of any medication and they’re also saving any salvageable medical records.

Security officers will be posted at the facility overnight once it’s cleared.

About 50 firefighters responded to the facility around 9:50 Sunday night including 30 who were off-duty.

The fire chief said the entire police department and emergency medical services went to help rescue victims and triage some of them on scene.

About a dozen immobile residents were physically carried out of the building.

Family members described chaos as residents hung out of windows trying to escape.

One woman said her father called her while he was trapped inside.

“He was on the floor talking to me and I’m crying, telling him ‘break the window, try to break it’ because he’s so weak and he couldn’t break it,” said the daughter of the resident.

“They eventually did bring him out and I’m forever grateful for that.”

Five firefighters were also injured but they’ve been released from the hospital and are expected to recover.

The fire chief is looking into mental health services for any first responders involved.

If you are looking for a loved one this afternoon, a family reunification center has been set up at Saint Anne’s Hospital.

You can also call 508-674-5741 to reach the reunification center.