Tragedy in Fall River: Families, residents, and officials respond to deadly fire at assisted living facility 

FALL RIVER, Mass. (WLNE) — A devastating night for the Fall River community after a fire at an assisted living facility.

At least nine people are dead, and dozens of residents were rescued after flames broke out Sunday night at Gabriel House.

Many Fall River firefighters called the fire an overwhelming, understaffed tragedy that could have been prevented.

IAFF Local 1314 President Michael O’Reagan was one of the firefighters who arrived just 10 minutes after the call came in.

Showing up off-duty in a t-shirt and shorts, he said he ran into the burning building, trying to save as many people as he could.

O’Reagan said this is the worst tragedy when it comes to loss of life in a fire in Massachusetts in the last 40 years.

He added its the worst scene he has ever witnessed.

“We have been plagued with manpower shortages, we should be running with four, we only run with three,” O’Reagan said. “Had we had four persons on each apparatus, as we’re supposed to, we would’ve had an extra eight firefighters on duty, and we could’ve extricated more of these people and we may have had a better outcome for some of the victims.”

Mayor Paul Coogan responded to the criticism in an interview with ABC6 News Monday night.

“We staff at the number the chief gives us; that’s what we put in the budget,” Coogan said. “My position is this is not the time for politics. We have people and families that are grieving. The focus should be on the ones that still need placement and the ones that need support. That would be my focus. I’m not worried right now about the union and their count. They should be dealing with the chief and what he wants to do going forward.”

There were 70 residents who lived at Gabriel House. Those who survived now need a place to live.

Governor Maura Healey offering the support of her administration in Fall River.

“All I can say is that I’m heartbroken for the individuals who perished in this, and I’m heartbroken for their families and for their friends and loved ones,” Healey said. “I’m just so grateful that the teams were able to act so quickly, so swiftly, and were it not for that, we would have seen an even far and unimaginable loss of life here, given the vulnerability of this population.”

Many of the residents with special needs or disabilities, including wheelchair users, were among those inside the three-story building.

Mayor Paul Coogan also speaking out, lauding public safety leaders for preventing further loss of life here.

“This is the kind of thing you don’t want, middle of July, Sunday night, the city explodes around a tragedy like this, its not good for anybody, but with the right people in place you’re able to maintain a level of control and a level of safety for all the residents, as you can see this didn’t spread anywhere, they kept it in that wing as best they could, it was more the smoke, as the chief pointed out, ands these guys up and down the street did a great job last night,” Coogan said.

O’Reagan added that when he arrived to the scene, he did hear fire alarms, and was not sure if sprinkler systems were working.

Coogan told ABC6 News it’s his understanding an inspection was done at The Gabriel House in October 2024 and the building passed.

ABC6 News filed a public records request with the City of Fall River for inspection reports.

The fire originated at the side of the building, where firefighters have spent the day boarding up windows.

ABC6 News anchors Tiffany Murphy and Ryan Medeiros spoke to survivors and family members impacted by the tragedy.

One woman, who is the daughter of a resident, said her mother was on the first floor of Gabriel House Sunday night when she was rescued by firefighters.

The mother, 63-year-old Brenda Hurley Cropper, was taken to Rhode Island Hospital. 50% of her body was badly burned, and she was in organ failure, her family said.

Another woman said her father, another resident, called and said he was trapped inside his room.

“I says, ‘open your bathroom window,’ he says, ‘it is open, but they not hearing me, they’re not hearing me Melanie, I’m gonna die in here,’ and I’m like ‘please, don’t say that, please don’t, you know, try to fight it, try to get on the floor, stay low so your not breathing the smoke in,’ and he was coughing and choking, like he was breathing in all that smoke, I don’t even know how low he was on the floor…but they did eventually bring him out and I’m so forever grateful for that,” the woman said.

That man was able to make it out. Another survivor, Albert Almanza, expressed the same hectic moments inside the building.

“I went to my apartment door, my room door. I opened it, I. All the smoke from the hall went right in my face, and all that I could do is just stand there and choke. And I thought it was gonna be the end of everything,” Almanza said.

Many families are now reuniting at the Timao Center off Bay Street.

Donna Murphy was at the Timao Center. She said she lived at the Gabriel House for the last five years, and believes she lost several friends in the fire.

“Their inability to care about a person they are responsible for was depressing, it amazes me, there was no need for those people to die, no need, they didn’t have to die, it just was neglect, absolute neglect from the ownership there,” Murphy said.

Murphy also spoke about what steps she believes could have been taken to prevent the tragedy.

“One of the things they could’ve done was have a fire drill, five years never had a fire drill,” Murphy said. “Had no idea how to get people out of there…you come into a facility, you’re wheelchair bound and you’re put on the third floor, what sense does that make?”

Murphy added that the night of the fire was the first night in five years she did not sleep at the living facility, and was at a family members house. She said it was a blessing and thanked God.

She said she is incredibly angry at the owners, and claimed there was neglect with the building, including that the elevator did not work properly.

Others mentioned that the elevator was often broken, and that those in a wheelchair were not able to get down from the second and third floor on days there was not a fire.

ABC6 News has reached out to the owners of Gabriel House and a lawyer listed on property forms for comment and we have not yet heard back.

The state fire inspector is on scene and is trying to pinpoint where this fire began.

The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office said in a release Monday “the cause does not appear to be suspicious at this time.”

A family notification center has been set-up at Saint Anne’s Hospital for those looking for information on their loved ones.

Families interested in going to the center can enter through the emergency entrance and head to the chapel inside the hospital.

They can also call 508-674-5741 for information on the family notification center.

This is an ongoing story, check back with ABC6 updates on the fire.