Nine people died Sunday night after an assisted living facility caught fire in Fall River, Massachusetts, officials said, with elderly people begging for help from first responders as smoke poured out of the building.
The number of deaths at Gabriel House was confirmed Monday morning by Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon, who said that “upward of 30” people were taken by ambulance to nearby hospitals, with one listed in critical condition.
“Crews were met with heavy fire coming through the main entrance and multiple people hanging out the windows, looking to be rescued,” Bacon told reporters outside the facility.
Officials did not immediately provide details on the injuries to residents. “There were some that perished in the building and some that perished after being transported,” Bacon said.
The fire chief said five firefighters were taken from the scene with “mostly minor injuries” and have since been released. The nearest hospital, Saint Anne’s, is less than a block from Gabriel House.
More than two dozen off-duty firefighters joined the rescue effort after an automatic alarm system triggered the emergency call, Bacon said, adding, “Every police officer in the city was here, too, and everybody was rescuing people.”
“A lot of these people needed assistance just getting out of the building, and a five-star effort got as many people out as we could,” Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan said.
A woman was speaking on the phone to her father – a resident trapped at Gabriel House – while he was trying to find a way out, she told CNN affiliate WCVB.
“He was on the floor talking to me, and I am crying telling him, ‘Break the window. Try to break it,’ because he is so weak, and he couldn’t break it.”
She told WCVB she was able to direct firefighters to her father’s location so he could be rescued.
Gabriel House has been in operation since 1999, according to the state Department of Health & Social Services. About 70 residents were living in the three-story building at the time of the fire, the Department of Fire Services said.
The Massachusetts State Police is assisting in the investigation into the cause of the fire. CNN reached out to the facility’s operator for comment.
The Gabriel House website says it has 24-hour staffing. Assisted living facilities in Massachusetts “must always have sufficient staff to handle emergencies and meet resident needs as required by resident service plans,” according to the Executive Office of Aging & Independence.
The fire chief said he’s convinced that the quick work of first responders saved lives. “This is an unfathomable tragedy for the families involved and the Fall River community,” Chief Bacon said in an earlier, written statement.
“I applaud the efforts of them, but my heart goes out to the families of those who were injured and especially of the nine who lost their lives,” Bacon said.
“This is an unfathomable tragedy for the families involved and the Fall River community,” Bacon said in an earlier, written statement.
“My heart goes out to those who are waking up to the most horrific news imaginable about their loved ones this morning,” wrote Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey. “I’m grateful to the firefighters and first responders whose heroic efforts saved lives. We are all praying for those who lost loved ones and for the full recovery of those who were injured.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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