Lawsuit says Gabriel House fire system wasn't working in deadly Fall River fire

August 01, 2025

Willoughby Mariano

Investigators remove boxes containing patient medications from the Gabriel House assisted living facility after the fire in Fall River, Mass. (Steven Senne/AP)

Three residents of Fall River’s Gabriel House filed suit against the assisted living facility, alleging that the building's fire system wasn't properly installed.

The July 13 blaze killed 10 residents and injured more than 30 others. Officials said it was Massachusetts’ deadliest fire in more than 40 years.

The suit, filed Thursday in Bristol County Superior Court, accused Gabriel House of "negligence" for an extensive list of alleged problems. Safety system components such a fire panel, pump and sprinklers were not operational during the fire, the complaint said.

A properly functioning fire system would have never allowed the fire to spread beyond the room where it started, said Ryan Will, an attorney representing the residents.

"That's why we have fire doors. That's why we have early warning systems. That's why we have sprinklers," Will said. "All of those things should have worked to keep this fire in the room so that it didn't spread and kill 10 people and injure 30 more."

The facility also lacked an emergency plan, the complaint said, and the facility failed to conduct fire drills or train employees on fire procedures.

Residents also accuse facility management of failing to meaningfully enforce no smoking rules while highly flammable medical oxygen was being used on site.

Investigators believe the blaze started in a resident's room on the second floor. The cause was either a failed oxygen concentrator or smoking materials, a preliminary investigation found.

After the fire, residents complained about several of the problems now mentioned in the suit.

Two of the plaintiffs, Patricia Martin and Terry Young, were at the facility when the fire broke out and suffered from smoke inhalation, Will said. A third, Donna Murphey, was away from the building but lost her belongings in the flames.

Gabriel House owner Dennis Etzkorn and Fire Systems Inc. are named as defendants.

Fire Systems, a North Dartmouth company, provided alarms and fire safety equipment at Gabriel House, the suit said.

Representatives for the defendants did not return calls for comment.