Search for answers underway after assisted living facility fire claims 9 lives in Fall River

FALL RIVER, Mass. (WLNE) — More than 24 hours after the first calls came in for the tragic fire at a Fall River assisted living facility, the task of trying to understand what happened is well underway.

“The crews initially were met with very, very, very heavy fire conditions on arrival. The fire suppression efforts were put on hold because of the amount of victims that needed to be rescued,” IAFF Local 1314 President Michael O’Reagan said.

Nine victims died and 30 residents were injured after a fire broke out at the Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility in Fall River Sunday night.

“I would venture to guess without knowing the exact number that there were more rescues out of this building last night than there have been in the 23 years that I’ve been a firefighter,” Fall River Fire Department Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said.

40 min after the call, firefighters without breathing apparatus were inside searching for victims.

“They raise a ladder, I went in, I didn’t have an air tank or anything, first room empty, second door I kicked in, body, next room empty, next room body, I just kept yelling, guys kept coming down, we kept dragging them out,” Fall River Fire Department Captain Frank O’Regan said.

Officials said flames were contained to one part of the building, but it was the smoke that overwhelmed many of the residents.

“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,” Gabriel House resident Albert Almanza said.

Many questions are still unanswered, we do know the assisted living facility passed inspection October of 2024.

“They had sprinklers, I don’t know what the status was, that was for the inspection, they had sprinklers, they had fire detectors, they had smoke detectors,” Mayor Paul Coogan said.

However, residents told ABC6 they were concerned about the building’s condition for years.

“Their inability to care about a person they’re responsible for was depressing” Gabriel House resident Donna Murphy said.

In the midst of all of this, the firefighters union is criticizing the mayor, saying more lives could have been saved if the fire department was fully staffed.

“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.”

Mayor Paul Coogan responded, saying “we staff at the number the chief gives us. That’s what we put in the budget. My position is this is not the time for politics.”

The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office said the cause of the fire does not appear to be suspicious as investigators work to pinpoint was sparked this tragic fire.

The City of Fall River now helping the people displaced Monday night at a shelter on Bay Street.