Nine people were killed Sunday night when a fire tore through an assisted living facility in Fall River, Massachusetts, according to the town’s fire chief.
Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said at a news conference Monday morning that more than 30 people had been taken to area hospitals, one in critical condition, and dozens of people were rescued by ladder.
The fire damage was contained to one wing, but there was heavy smoke damage throughout.
Fall River Mayor Paul Coogen told WJAR on Monday morning that the bodies of some of the victims were still inside the facility. Medical examiners were 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 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 trying to extinguish the fire.
“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 was set up at the chapel of St. Anne’s Hospital nearby. Families seeking information on residents can call 508-674-5741 or use the center’s Emergency Room entrance.
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.
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