Healey visits site of “horrifying” assisted living fire in Fall River

By Colin A. Young

State fire officials are among those investigating what caused the smokey fire that killed nine residents of a Fall River assisted living facility late Sunday night, part of a state government response that also includes efforts to assure health care access for survivors.

Gov. Maura Healey traveled to the site of the Gabriel House assisted living facility late Monday morning, after she had already announced that a “full investigation is already underway.” Saying she could still pick up the acrid smell of the smoke, Healey expressed her sympathies to the families of the deceased and thanked first responders.

“It’s horrifying to think about what happened in the middle of the night, in the dark. People just scrambling as best they could to get out through windows, with firefighters coming up ladders, you know, hauling people down in any way possible to get them out of the building, the panic — it’s so heartbreaking and so sad, and something you never want to see,” she said.

The governor added, “This is government, though, at work. You know, the men and women who show up and answer the call in the middle of the night to put out a fire, to rescue people and to save lives — just really, really struck by those acts of public service and 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, an unimaginable loss of life here, given the vulnerability of this population.”

Healey continued, “That’s what folks need to understand. This was not a situation where teams arrived and people were able to get out easily. All of these people needed assistance. As you saw, many were in wheelchairs, many were immobile, many had oxygen tanks. They were severely compromised individuals in this assisted living facility, which made it all the more challenging. And you can imagine a fire raging, you’re dealing with a smoke inhalation … but just how precarious this was with oxygen tanks, so many of them on, and the presence of fire, it’s unbelievable that there wasn’t an even greater loss of life.”

The Fall River Fire Department responded to the Gabriel House assisted living facility on Oliver Street at about 9:50 p.m. Sunday, according to a release from the state Department of Fire Services. The first responding companies “observed heavy smoke and flames at the front of the building with occupants trapped inside.” The fire went to a five-alarm response, drawing about 50 firefighters to the scene, including about 30 who had been off duty.

The state said firefighters entered the building and rescued multiple residents, but “[t]ragically, several occupants were declared deceased at the scene.” Local fire officials said during a news conference Monday morning that nine residents of the facility died and one was in critical condition at a hospital.

About 70 people lived at the facility prior to the fire and state officials said many “were transported to local and regional hospitals in varying conditions.” Five firefighters were also taken to be treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.

“When you pull up to a building, the first thing you see is the fire, but then you see the multiple people that are asking to be helped and begging to be helped out the windows. So that’s where it complicates the scene and makes everything more difficult,” Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said Monday morning. “So that is something that none of us want to ever pull up to. And unfortunately, like I said, that that happened here last night, and we just pour our prayers out to the families of those who were hurt and killed.”

DFS said the origin and cause of the fire are under investigation by the Fall River Fire Department, Fall River Police, State Police assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office, and State Police assigned to the Bristol County District Attorney’s office. Code compliance officers from DFS are assisting.

“This is an unfathomable tragedy for the families involved and the Fall River community,” Bacon said. “On behalf of the Fall River Fire Department, I want to express our heartfelt condolences to the loved ones who are grieving this morning.”

In a Monday morning press conference, Bacon and Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan said the fire was mostly contained to one wing of the building, and that the smoke was the main thing that affected the people inside the facility. Bacon said he could not say whether the assisted living facility had fire-suppression sprinklers or whether they activated Sunday night.

The chief said “anytime there’s a fire in any facility, there are code concerns” and said that was part of the ongoing investigation.

Sen. Michael Rodrigues, who represents Fall River and chairs the Senate Ways and Means Committee, called the fire “a heartbreaking tragedy.”

“The Fall River Fire Department and EMS personnel worked heroically to rescue people in the chaos of a fire of that severity, and first responders did a tremendous job to save many lives,” he said. “My House colleagues and I will do whatever we can at the state level to assist displaced individuals and families as they access the situation going forward.”

Healey spoke outside the fire scene late Monday morning and said all five firefighters who had been taken to the hospital had since been released. She said she planned to next head down to the shelter that had been established for survivors.

“The relationship between our administration and the city of Fall River is tight. We’ve worked together on a lot of things. We’ve worked together in good times on a lot of matters of economic development under Mayor Coogan’s great leadership and what I pledge is that we’ll do whatever we can,” Healey said at the fire scene late Monday morning. “I’ve been in touch with our secretariats of health and human services and of public safety. Right now, the first order of business is to make sure we’re assisting the city in any way possible in rehousing what is a vulnerable population.”

Healey said “most, if not all” of the residents at Gabriel House get health care through MassHealth and she was “working with our agencies, and I’ll see what we can do.”

Asked if the state was aware of any previous safety complaints related to Gabriel House, Healey said, “Not at this time, but again, we haven’t had a full opportunity to look into everything.”

Gabriel House of Fall River is certified by the Executive Office of Aging & Independence as an assisted living facility. To obtain certification, the state said facilities must provide a “copy of all required current building, fire safety, and locally approved state sanitary code certificates and permits.”

A family notification center was set up at the chapel of St. Anne’s Hospital, which is just steps away from the Gabriel House. Families seeking information on residents can call 508-674-5741 or use the Emergency Room entrance to access the center, the governor’s office said Monday morning.