Updated July 14, 2025 at 1:25 PM EDT
Nine people are dead and at least 30 injured after a 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. “On behalf of the Fall River Fire Department, I want to express our heartfelt condolences to the loved ones who are grieving this morning.”
Firefighters responded to a fire at Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility at about 9:50 p.m. and found heavy smoke, flames and residents trapped inside the Oliver Street building, according to a press release by the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services.
About 50 firefighters responded to the call, including about 30 who were off-duty at the time, the state department said.
Multiple residents of the facility were declared dead at the scene, with dozens of others taken to area hospitals in varying conditions. One person is in critical condition, Bacon said in a press conference Monday morning. Five firefighters were also taken to hospitals for non-life threatening injuries.
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.”
A difficult rescue
Lorraine Ferrara, one of about 70 residents at the facility, awoke to a neighbor pounding on her door. She tried to make her way through the smoke in the hallway but turned back.
The sprinkler system was shooting hot water on her back, so she retreated into her room.
“It was filled with smoke,” she said. “I opened the window as far as I could, yelling ‘Help! Help! Second floor!’”
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.”
Bacon estimated that about half of the buildings residents needed to be rescued, either out from windows or through hallways. Around 70 people lived at the Gabriel House before the fire, according to the state.
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.”
Next steps
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.”
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.
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.
Dennis Etzkorn, the facility’s owner, 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.
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 and The Associated Press.
This is a developing story and will continue to be updated.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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