Firefighters union says inadequate staffing hindered response to blaze at assisted-living facility

International Association of Fire Fighters President Edward Kelly said if staffing had been at the nationally recommended level, there would have been eight more firefighters at the scene Sunday night.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — Flames roared through an assisted-living facility in Massachusetts, killing nine people and trapping residents inside, including some who leaned out of windows and screamed for help, authorities said Monday. At least 30 people were hurt.

Firefighters responded to the Gabriel House facility in Fall River, about 50 miles south of Boston, at about 9:50 p.m. Sunday and were met with heavy smoke and flames at the front of the building. The cause was under investigation, authorities said.

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 retreated to her room as the sprinkler system shot hot water onto her back.

“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.”

Others who were rescued were taken to hospitals. 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.

First responders included 30 off-duty firefighters

Gabriel House opened in 1999 and has 100 units, according to Massachusetts Executive Office of Aging & Independence. 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.

Dennis Etzkorn, the facility’s owner, declined to comment Monday, but officials said he was cooperating with what Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon called “a very extensive investigation.”

About 50 firefighters responded to the scene, including 30 who were off-duty. Police also helped break down doors and carried about a dozen residents to safety. Five injured firefighters were released from the hospital Monday.

“This is an unfathomable tragedy for the families involved and the Fall River community,” Bacon said.

Rev. Michael Racine, the city’s fire chaplain, spent the night blessing the bodies of the dead and trying to console survivors, families, staff members and firefighters.

“Nobody in that department has seen what we saw last night. Nobody,” Racine said. “We’ve seen fatalities, which we don’t want to see, but nobody’s seen anything like last night.”

Joe Alves, who lives several houses down from the facility, said he saw officials pulling bodies, people in wheelchairs and injured pets out of the building, with some pouring water bottles on burns.

“It was terrible,” he said, choking up slightly.

Several residents praised police and firefighters for heroic rescue efforts but said staff members did little to help.

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

Every assisted-living facility has to meet state building and fire codes, according to the Massachusetts Department of Elder Affairs. Facilities must have adequate staff to respond to emergencies and evacuation plans, according to a department list of state certification procedures and standards.

An affiliated adult foster care home under the same ownership as Gabriel House and located a short distance away was indicted on medical assistance fraud and kickback charges in 2012, according to Bristol County Superior Court records.

The office of then-state Attorney General Martha Coakley announced indictments against Etzkorn, owner of Gabriel Care LLC, and a director of the facility in 2012. The charges were dismissed in 2015, according to court records. Coakley declined to comment Monday, referring questions to the current attorney general’s office.

Asked at a news conference if there were previous safety complaints about the facility, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said she was not aware of any. She offered state assistance to the city’s mayor, condolences to the families of those who died and gratitude to first responders.

“Right now, the first order of business is to make sure we’re assisting the city in every way possible in rehousing what is a vulnerable population,” Healey said. “All of these people need assistance. As you saw, many were in wheelchairs, many were immobile, many had oxygen tanks.”

City is one of the poorest in Massachusetts

With about 94,000 residents, Fall River is the state’s 10th-largest city and one of its poorest.

The blue-collar community in southern Massachusetts was once a global center for textile manufacturing, but it suffered population loss and economic hardship as the industry declined. Recent decades have seen some new development and investment, but the city has also been rocked by scandal. Former Mayor Jasiel Correia was convicted in a corruption trial and sentenced to six years in prison in 2021.

Gabriel House is located is a dense neighborhood of mostly three-story apartment buildings just south of Kennedy Park, the city’s largest park. Survivors of the fire were ushered to a temporary housing center about half a mile from their former home, many of them in shock after losing most of their belongings.

Some broke down in tears, others threw out names — desperate to know who was still alive. Staffers handed out sandwiches, beverages and even canes for those who did not have time to grab their medical equipment in the smoke and flames.

Neal Beck, who had lived at Gabriel House for six years, said he was rescued by ladder from his bathroom window.

“I’ve been homeless before,” Beck said. “I guess I’ll be homeless again.”

Head cook Paul Ferreira was off the clock Sunday night but rushed to the scene and watched as bodies were removed the building. He grew emotional describing the community of people who have long struggled to find affordable housing.

“Not knowing it was the last time I was cooking for them, it’s sad. They become part of your family,” Ferreira said. “Some of these people have no family members. Where are they going to go now?”

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Associated Press writers Kathy McCormack and Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire; Matt O’Brien in Providence, Rhode Island; and Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine, contributed to this report.

Michael Casey And Kimberlee Kruesi, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Firefighters union says inadequate staffing hindered response to blaze at assisted-living facility

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