A tragedy in Fall River, Massachusetts, as a deadly fire tore through an assisted living facility on Sunday night.
Nine people were killed, and one person remains hospitalized in critical condition, Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said at a press conference Monday morning. He said more than 30 people were taken to area hospitals and dozens of people were rescued over ladders.
The fire damage was contained to one wing of the building, but there is smoke damage throughout.
It wasn’t necessarily large flames, but rather a ton of smoke, that led to the chaotic scene.
Numerous people were sent to the hospital and “multiple fatalities” were reported when news of the fire broke overnight, though the exact number of dead had not been released until Monday morning.
Fall River Mayor Paul Coogen told WJAR on Monday morning that the bodies of some of the people who died were still inside the facility. Medical examiners are now at the scene.
“This is an unfathomable tragedy for the families involved and the Fall River community,” Bacon said in a statement 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.”
According to fire officials, the fire broke out around 9:30 p.m. Sunday at the Gabriel House Assisted Living Residence on Oliver Street. Every single firefighter in the city was called in, including 30 off-duty firefighters. When crews arrived, they saw people hanging out of the windows looking to be rescued as heavy smoke and flames poured from the front of the building.
Firefighters immediately entered the building, rescuing numerous occupants while also attempting to extinguish the fire.
Some were taken to the hospital, and others died.
“They showed up to the scene, obviously fire, smoke and victims screaming for rescue out windows, and it makes for a chaotic scene,” Bacon said at the scene. “We had every firefighter on duty in the city was here. We had multiple firefighters off duty that were recalled that got up here quick enough to affect those rescues.”
It’s uncertain exactly how many people lived at the facility, but the fire chief said it’s around 70.
A family notification center has been set up at the chapel of St. Anne’s Hospital nearby. Families seeking information on residents can call 508-674-5741 or use the Emergency Room entrance to access the center.
Five firefighters were also sent to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and have since been released.
The origin and cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Fall River Fire Department, Fall River police and state police assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Bristol District Attorney’s Office.
