Nine killed in Massachusetts nursing home fire

An overnight fire at a nursing home in Fall River, Massachusetts, has left nine people dead and about 30 injured, with one person remaining in critical condition.

Firefighters responded to the Gabriel House Assisted Living Residence on Oliver Street after an automatic alarm was triggered around 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said that when firefighters arrived, they heard screams, saw people hanging out of windows, and found one wing of the building on fire. Although the flames did not spread throughout the facility, smoke did. “Smoke is the most damaging part of any fire,” Bacon emphasized, highlighting the critical importance of smoke detectors.

“At least a dozen people were rescued using ladders,” Bacon said. Around 50 firefighters responded to the fire—30 of them off-duty—and managed to extinguish it by Monday morning. Five firefighters sustained minor injuries.

The residence housed about 70 people, according to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts website. Authorities are now preparing to return the building to its owner.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.