9 dead, 30 injured in Fall River assisted living facility fire

Nine people are dead and at least 30 injured after a five-alarm fire broke out at an assisted living facility in Fall River on Sunday night, according to city officials.

“This is an unfathomable tragedy for the families involved and the Fall River community,” Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said in a statement early Monday morning.

The fire broke out before 10 p.m. on Sunday at the Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility. Firefighters found heavy smoke, flames and residents trapped inside the Oliver Street building, according to the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services.

Multiple residents of the facility were declared dead at the scene. Victims range in age from 61 to 86 years old.

The Bristol County District Attorney's office released some of their names on Monday afternoon: Rui Albernaz, 64; Ronald Codega, 61; Margaret Duddy, 69; Robert King, 78; Kim Mackin, 71; Richard Rochon, 78; and Eleanor Willett, 86. The DA's office did not publicly name one woman, 70, and one man, 77, because their families have not been notified yet.

Dozens of residents were taken to local hospitals in varying conditions. Five firefighters were treated and released by Monday evening.

Those injured were transported to St. Anne’s Hospital and Charlton Hospital in Fall River, along with St. Lukes’ Hospital in New Bedford. At least two people with more serious injuries were taken to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.

Jarren Oldrid described the scene as “pretty terrifying” as he tried to figure out if his 67-year-old father, Steven Oldrid, was safe. He found him recovering from smoke inhalation at a hospital.

“It’s kind of just a whirlwind of trying to figure out what’s happening, how this could happen in such a major way,” he said. The cause of the fire is under investigation by local and state authorities.

At the scene Monday morning, Bacon told WBUR he had never before seen an incident like this.

“I was with the state fire marshal last night and a bunch of people from the state police and trying to think of when the last time there were nine fatalities at a single incident in the state of Massachusetts and nobody could come up with one,” Bacon told WBUR. “This is generational.”

Gabriel House has been in operation for over two decades and has 100 units, according to Massachusetts Executive Office of Aging and Independence. About 70 people were currently living there, state officials said.

Its website promotes studio apartments “for those seniors who cannot afford the high end of assisted living” as well as group adult foster care within walking distance of shopping, restaurants and churches.

“If an emergency occurs, no matter the time, there will be someone ready to help,” the website reads.

However, several residents said Gabriel House's staff members did little to help when the fire broke out.

“They didn’t knock on one door,” Robert Cabral said. “They just ran.”

Lorraine Ferrara, one the facility's residents, awoke to a neighbor pounding on her door. She tried to make her way through the smoke in the hallway but retreated to her room as the sprinkler system shot hot water onto her back.

As her room filed with smoke, Ferrara opened her window and yelled. A firefighter broke the window and carried her down the ladder, she said.

“I really thought I was going to die,” she said. “I thought there was no way out.”

That fear mixed with anger as she watched two employees run from the building.

“They left us alone and ran out into the parking lot,” she said. “I was hanging out the window — ‘Help! Help!’ and they just kept running."

Bacon estimated that about half of the buildings residents needed to be rescued, either out from windows or through hallways.

Complicating the rescue was a number of air conditioner units in windows, which made some of the larger windows in a residence unusable for rescues. He said that meant some tenants needed to be accessed through small bathroom windows.

"It takes six or seven firefighters to get an average person out of a building safely," said Bacon. “That puts into perspective how difficult it is and how time consuming it is and how physically exhausting it is to make those rescues.”

Gabriel House resident Donna Murphy considers herself lucky. She said she was not there during the fire, having decided to sleep at her granddaughter’s house on Sunday.

" I've lived there for five years. Last night was the only night I ever slept out. So I was blessed where I don't have to relive that tragedy in my mind over and over and over," said Murphy.

Maintenance worker Nelson Gonzales described the residents as "beautiful, beautiful people." He last worked on Friday and described a conversation he had leaving the facility.

"We were all outside having a good time, and I don't remember who said it, but I said, ‘Alright guys, I see you Monday.’ And they said, ‘Nope.’ I said, ‘what do you mean, No?’ He says, 'cause tomorrow's not guaranteed to no one.’ And look what happened," Gonzales recalled. "It didn't hit me until now."

About 50 firefighters responded to the call, including about 30 who were off-duty at the time, according to state officials. A request for additional help from nearby communities was also issued, though the exact response wasn't immediately clear.

Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan praised the response from firefighters, police and EMTs.

“These guys did a spectacular job in the face of a very bad tragedy,” Coogan said at the press conference Monday.

In an interview with WBUR’s All Things Considered Monday evening, he addressed criticism from the firefighters union that the department was insufficiently staffed.

Earlier in the day, Edward Kelly, president of the International Association of Firefighters, said more lives could have been saved if Fall River had more firefighters assigned to work each truck. He claimed the staffing level fell below national standards and that of neighboring New Bedford.

Coogan pushed back, saying that the department was staffed at the level the city’s fire chief had requested.

“I come from a background in education. I was a high school vice principal. I don’t know how many firemen you put on duty. I don’t know how many policemen you put on duty,” Coogan said. “I listen to the chiefs — both of them, who I have the utmost respect for — and I take their advice to heart and we go with their numbers.”

During the press conference, Bacon encouraged the members of emergency services and the families of those impacted by the fire to seek mental health care in the wake of the incident. He said he will personally be reaching out to the responding firefighters.

"My next step is to go to the stations and to make sure that we're checking in with those firefighters to make sure they have the support they need," said Bacon. "Everyone thinks firefighters are heroes and they're just designed to be able to deal with anything, but that's not the case."

Residents displaced from the fire were taken to the Timao Center, an emergency shelter facility in Fall River. The mayor said the city is working to get clothes, underwear and medicine for the tenants. All displaced residents have temporary housing on Monday night, according to the state.

Dennis Etzkorn, the facility's owner, could not be reached by WBUR and declined to comment to the Associated Press Monday. But Coogan said that the owner of Gabriel House was being "very cooperative" with authorities.

"He knows he’s responsible to take care of his residents, which is our main concern," the mayor said.

Coogan told WBUR that the building passed a safety inspection in October 2024 that was "good for a year."

In 2012, Etzkorn faced criminal charges for allegedly operating a $2 million kickback scheme. He allegedly paid $150 to health care providers to push clients to seek services at his businesses.

A Bristol County judge later dismissed the case citing the state's improper search for evidence.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey visited the site of the fire on Monday morning. At a press conference, she commended the efforts of emergency services.

"It's unbelievable that there wasn't an even greater loss of life," Healey said. “And I just think it speaks to the training and the preparedness of the first responders."

The governor said the state will do whatever possible to support Fall River.

"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.

With reporting from WBUR's John Bender, Patrick Madden and Christine Willmsen and The Associated Press.