FSI, Gabriel House, file cross claims against each other over recalled sprinkler heads

Cross claims have been filed by both Fire Systems Inc and Gabriel Care, Inc. concerning recalled sprinkler heads that were inside Fall River’s Gabriel House on the night of the fatal fire that claimed the lives of 10 residents on July 13th.

In response to their cross complaint, FSI released the following statement:

“Since 2014, FSI has conducted periodic inspections of the Gabriel House fire alarm and sprinkler systems in accordance with its service agreement with Gabriel House as well as all applicable National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards and local requirements.

“FSI did not install– nor was it contracted to maintain or repair – Gabriel House’s fire safety systems.  FSI also does not manufacture fire sprinkler components and is not responsible for identifying manufacturer recalls. Nonetheless, in September 2024, approximately 10 months before the Gabriel House fire, an FSI inspector did identify fire sprinkler heads installed at Gabriel House that had been the subject of a manufacturer recall and might not operate in the event of a fire.  FSI promptly notified the Gabriel House in writing about the need to replace the recalled sprinkler heads and offered a complementary survey to develop a replacement quote.  Gabriel House, however, did not act on FSI’s notification.

“Today was the filing deadline for cross-claims in the first of several personal injury lawsuits naming Gabriel House and FSI.  Among other things, FSI’s cross-claim against Gabriel House demonstrates that Gabriel House, rather than FSI, is responsible for the failure to replace the recalled sprinkler heads at the facility and it corrects a number of false public statements Gabriel House has made about FSI in the aftermath of this tragedy.” 

According to spokesman for Gabriel Care, George Regan, “Dennis Etzkorn and Gabriel Care, Inc., have filed a cross claim against Fire Systems Inc. and are confident that the evidence we will present at trial will clearly establish that all liability rests with FSI.”

Regan statement stated the following:

“1. FSI failed for years to properly inspect and test the sprinklers at Gabriel House and failed on a regular basis to include in its inspection reports to Gabriel Care, Inc. the deficiencies of the sprinklers, even deficiencies obvious to the trained eye, which required corrective action. Rather, FSI certified on a quarterly basis that “all sprinklers [are] in good condition, not obstructed and free of corrosion.”

“2. It is anticipated that FSI will rely upon a single email sent in September 2024 advising for the first and only time that some of the sprinklers in the Gabriel House may have been recalled by the manufacturer and the US Consumer Protection Agency. However, that reliance, as shown from the facts stated in the cross claim, is misplaced. A sprinkler head recall was issued in July o2001, and at no time since the commencement of the FSI Service Agreement in June 2014, until September 2024, a span of more than 10 years, did FSI notify Gabriel Care of the recall or any issues with the sprinklers, including issues related to corrosion.

“3. FSI conducted inspections at Gabriel House in February 2025, April 2025, and on July 8, 2025, five days before the fire, and certified that no deficiencies or required actions with the sprinklers existed. Indeed, on all four occasions, FSI certified that “all sprinklers [are] in good condition, not obstructed and free of corrosion.”

“4. FSI’s failures not only amount to breaches of its contract with Gabriel Care, recklessness, negligence, misrepresentations, and fraud, but also were a direct cause of the deaths of ten Gabriel House residents.”