Flames tear through assisted-living facility in Massachusetts, killing 9
and trapping residents
[July 15, 2025]
By MICHAEL CASEY, KIMBERLEE KRUESI, PATRICK WHITTLE and
HOLLY RAMER
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.
A firefighters union said inadequate staffing hindered the response to
the blaze and contributed to the death toll, though the mayor criticized
that characterization, and the fire chief suggested no number of first
responders would have been enough. Meanwhile, several residents who
praised firefighters and police for heroic rescue efforts said staff
members did little to help.
“They didn’t knock on one door,” Robert Cabral said. “They just ran.”
Firefighters responded to the Gabriel House facility in Fall River,
about 50 miles (80 kilometers) 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 Bristol County district attorney's office said in a
statement that the fire's cause “does not appear to be suspicious at
this time.” Its origin remains 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.
As her room filed with smoke, Ferrara opened her window and yelled. 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.”
That fear mixed with anger as she watched two employees run from the
building.
“They left us alone and ran out into the parking lot,” she said. “I was
hanging out the window — ‘Help! Help!’ and they just kept running."
The dead ranged in age from 61 to 86, authorities said. The Bristol
County district attorney's office identified seven of the deceased as
Rui Albernaz, 64; Ronald Codega, 61; Margaret Duddy, 69; Robert King,
78; Kim Mackin, 71; Richard Rochon, 78; and Eleanor Willett, 86. The
office said a 70-year-old woman and 77-year-old man were still pending
notification of family.
Mackin's nephew, Austin Mackin, in an emailed statement from family
members, described his aunt as “gifted beyond words."
“We will all miss Kimmy,” the statement read. “Beyond being
exceptionally kind, few knew that she was a brilliant musician.”
She received a full ride scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music
and after graduating, she toured around the world as first chair viola,
the statement said. During the latter part of her career as an
instrumentalist, she played in the Boston Philharmonic.
Gabriel House opened in 1999 and has 100 units, according to
Massachusetts Executive Office of Aging and 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.
“If an emergency occurs, no matter the time, there will be someone ready
to help,” the website states.
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.”
District Attorney Tom Quinn called the fire a “terrible tragedy” in a
statement that also commended first responders “bringing many of the
residents to safety while being confronted with very difficult
circumstances.”
Firefighters union decries lack of staff, equipment
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.
Officials with the firefighters union said the closing of fire companies
and cutbacks on staff have been a problem for decades.
If staffing had been at the nationally recommended level, eight more
firefighters would have been at the scene, said Edward Kelly, president
of the International Association of Fire Fighters union.
Capt. Frank O'Reagan said there was no breathing equipment available
when he arrived, so he started going door to door on the third floor
without an air tank until the smoke got to him.
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A unidentified man, right, appears emotional while embracing a
resident of the Gabriel House assisted living facility, left, in
Fall River, Mass., outside a temporary shelter, Monday, July 14,
2025, in Fall River, following a fire at the Gabriel House that
started late Sunday and resulted in multiple fatalities. (AP
Photo/Steven Senne)
O'Reagan's brother and fellow firefighter Michael O'Reagan said he
was shocked that 40 minutes after firefighters arrived, a large part
of the building had not been searched.
“We did the best we could with what we had, and what we had was not
enough,” said Michael O'Reagan, president of the Fall River
firefighters union.
Mayor Paul Coogan said the fire department is staffed based on the
recommendation from the fire chief.
“We staff the fire department at the number the chief asked for,” he
said. “We’re not even 24 hours into this and that’s going to be a
priority, not the families?”
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.
Clever Parra, who lives behind the facility, said he joined several
other neighbors to help evacuate residents through the windows. The
40-year-old construction worker described going up a ladder and
seeing a man inside attempting to open a window to escape the
flames. After trying on his own, Parra turned to a firefighter to
break the window.
The firefighter "sent the guy to me feet first and I take the guy
out and bring him down,” he recalled.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey offered state assistance to the
city's mayor, condolences to the families of those who died and
gratitude to first responders.
Brian Doherty, president of the Massachusetts Assisted Living
Association, said state officials were working with long-term care
facilities to find homes for displaced residents.
Paul Lanzikos, a former Massachusetts Secretary of Elder Affairs and
co-founder of the advocacy group Dignity Alliance, said the group
was concerned by what has been reported about the lack of fire
drills, low number of staff for a highly dependent population and
safety issues such as a broken elevator and air conditioners in the
windows.
“It’s a terrible tragedy that should have never happened,” Lanzikos
said.
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.
Survivors of the fire were ushered to a temporary housing center
about half a mile (0.8 kilometers) 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 from 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?"
___
Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Whittle reported from
Scarborough, Maine. Associated Press writers Kathy McCormack in
Concord and Matt O'Brien and Michelle Smith in Providence, Rhode
Island, contributed to this report.
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