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Multiple fatalities, injuries in fire at Fall River assisted living facility
THIS MORNING. TODD, ANTOINETTE AND DOUG. GOOD MORNING. AT THIS HOUR THE FIRE IS OUT, BUT THIS IS STILL A VERY ACTIVE SCENE. AS THE INVESTIGATION GETS UNDERWAY, THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL IS ON SCENE, BEGINNING THIS INVESTIGATION. JUST A MOMENT AGO, WE SAW SOME FLASHLIGHTS. THEY’RE INSIDE THE BUILDING AS INVESTIGATORS ARE LOOKING AT THE SCENE AND LIKELY DETERMINING WHERE THE FIRE ORIGINATED AND PERHAPS HOW IT STARTED. THE FALL RIVER FIRE CHIEF SAYS MULTIPLE PEOPLE WERE KILLED AND INJURED IN THIS FIRE HERE AT GABRIEL HOUSE. FIREFIGHTERS ARRIVED TO FIND MANY RESIDENTS HANGING OUT OF THEIR WINDOWS, WAITING FOR HELP, SCREAMING FOR HELP. MULTIPLE PEOPLE WERE RESCUED, TRANSPORTED TO HOSPITALS. FIVE FIREFIGHTERS WERE ALSO TRANSPORTED WITH MINOR INJURIES. FAMILY MEMBERS OF RESIDENTS DESCRIBED A VERY CHAOTIC SCENE. IN FACT, ONE WOMAN TELLS US HER FATHER CALLED TO HER. HE CALLED HER AS HE WAS TRAPPED IN HIS ROOM AND SHE SAYS HE HAD TO. SHE HAD TO DIRECT FIREFIGHTERS TO WHERE HE WAS IN THE BUILDING. HE WAS ON THE FLOOR TALKING TO ME, AND I’M CRYING, TELLING HIM, BREAK THE WINDOW, TRY TO BREAK IT BECAUSE HE’S SO WEAK AND HE COULDN’T BREAK IT. AND I’M LIKE, WHAT ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU? HE’S LIKE, I’M IN THE BATHROOM. I SAYS, OPEN YOUR BATHROOM WINDOW. IT IS OPEN. BUT THEY’RE NOT HEARING ME. THEY’RE NOT HEARING ME. MELANIE, I’M GOING TO DIE IN HERE. SO INTENSE. GABRIEL HOUSE IS AN ASSISTED LIVING CENTER THAT PROVIDES INDEPENDENT LIVING FOR OLDER ADULTS. THE MASSACHUSETTS EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF AGING AND INDEPENDENCE SAYS THE NONPROFIT FIRST OPENED BACK IN 1999. AT THIS POINT, FIREFIGHTERS DO NOT HAVE A COUNT ON HOW MANY PEOPLE TOTAL ARE LIVING HERE. THE FIRE MARSHAL IS WORKING TO RECONSTRUCT HOW ALL OF THIS HAPPENED. THEY DO BELIEVE THAT IT’S SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 70 PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE. AND AS I MENTIONED A MOMENT AGO, WE DON’T HAVE A COUNT AT THIS POINT AS TO HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE DEAD AS A RESULT OF THIS FIRE, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE INJURED. THERE IS, AS WE MENTIONED, A REUNIFICATION CENTER SET UP OVER AT SAINT ANNE’S HOSPITAL, WHICH IS JUST ABOUT A BLOCK AWAY, REPORTING LIVE THIS MORNING IN
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Multiple fatalities, injuries in fire at Fall River assisted living facility
5 firefighters transported with minor injuries
Multiple people have died and several were injured in a fire at an assisted living complex in Fall River, the city’s fire chief confirmed Monday.The fire department was called to the Gabriel House Assisted Living Residence on Oliver Street at 9:30 p.m. Sunday. Fire River Fire Department Chief Jeffrey Bacon said they arrived to find heavy fire in the main entrance of the complex, as well as multiple residents hanging out of their windows waiting to be rescued.Bacon said multiple people died in the fire and more were injured, though specific numbers were not available. Five firefighters were transported to hospitals with minor injuries. “This is an unfathomable tragedy for the families involved and the Fall River community,” Bacon said. “On behalf of the Fall River Fire Department, I want to express our heartfelt condolences to the loved ones who are grieving this morning.”The fire went to five alarms, drawing about 50 firefighters to the scene, including about 30 who were off-duty.Several residents were pronounced deceased at the scene. Many more were transported to local and regional hospitals in varying conditions. Family members described chaos as residents hung out of windows trying to escape the flames. One woman said her father called her as he was trapped in his room and she had to direct firefighters to his location.”He was on the floor talking to me, and I am crying telling him, ‘Break the window. Try to break,’ it because he is so weak, and he couldn’t break it, and I am like, ‘Where are you?’ and he was like. ‘I am in the bathroom,’ and I said open your bathroom window, and he said, ‘It is open, but they are not hearing me. They are not hearing me, Melanie. I am going to die in here,'” the woman said. A family reunification center is open at the chapel at St. Anne’s Hospital on Middle Street for families whose loved ones were residents at Gabriel House. Families can also call 508-674-5741 for assistance. According to its website, Gabriel House is an assisted living facility that allows older adults to live independently with help. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Aging & Independence reports Gabriel House first opened in 1999 and has 100 units. The origin and cause of the fire are under investigation by the Fall River Fire Department, Fall River Police, State Police assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office and State Police assigned to the Bristol DA’s office.
FALL RIVER, Mass. —
Multiple people have died and several were injured in a fire at an assisted living complex in Fall River, the city’s fire chief confirmed Monday.
The fire department was called to the Gabriel House Assisted Living Residence on Oliver Street at 9:30 p.m. Sunday.
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Fire River Fire Department Chief Jeffrey Bacon said they arrived to find heavy fire in the main entrance of the complex, as well as multiple residents hanging out of their windows waiting to be rescued.
Bacon said multiple people died in the fire and more were injured, though specific numbers were not available as of 5 a.m. Monday. Five firefighters were transported to hospitals with minor injuries.
Family members described chaos as residents hung out of windows trying to escape the flames. One woman said her father called her as he was trapped in his room and she had to direct firefighters to his location.
“He was on the floor talking to me, and I am crying telling him, ‘Break the window. Try to break,’ it because he is so weak, and he couldn’t break it, and I am like, ‘Where are you?’ and he was like. ‘I am in the bathroom,’ and I said open your bathroom window, and he said, ‘It is open, but they are not hearing me. They are not hearing me, Melanie. I am going to die in here,'” the woman said.
A family reunification center is open at the chapel at St. Anne’s Hospital on Middle Street for families whose loved ones were residents at Gabriel House. Families can also call 508-674-5741 for assistance.
According to its website, Gabriel House is an assisted living facility that allows older adults to live independently with help.
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Aging & Independence reports Gabriel House first opened in 1999 and has 100 units.
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