Nine dead in horror fire at Massachusetts assisted living home for the elderly

Nine people have died and dozens more are injured after a fire tore through a senior care home in southern Massachusetts. 

Firefighters found terrified elderly people hanging out of windows when they arrived at Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility on Sunday night, officials said. 

Flames ripped through the building around 9.30pm, and several people screamed from the windows for help when first responders arrived. 

Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said that more than 30 people were rushed to the hospital and nine people have died. One person remains in a critical condition. 

Five firefighters were also treated at hospital and each has since been released, Bacon said. Around 50 firefighters rushed to the blaze, which triggered five alarms. 

‘Our heart goes out to all of the families of the people that were injured here, and the people that lost their lives here,’ he told a press conference in the early hours of Monday morning. 

‘Fall River stands with them and sends out our thoughts and prayers.’ 

Nine people have died and dozens more are injured after a fire tore through a senior care home in southern Massachusetts. Firefighters found terrified elderly people hanging out of windows when they arrived at Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility on Sunday night, officials said

Flames ripped through the building around 9.30pm, and several people screamed from the windows for help when first responders arrived, according to the Fall River Fire Chief

Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said that more than 30 people were rushed to the hospital and nine people have died. One person remains in a critical condition

State Fire Marshal Jon Davine’s office told the Boston Globe that around 70 people were sleeping at Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility when the fire broke out. 

The cause of the fire has not been disclosed. Fire officials did not say whether the sprinkler system in the building was working. 

Family members have recalled the horrific moments elderly residents of the care home, which is just outside of Providence, Rhode Island, on the Massachusetts side of the border. 

One woman named only as Melanie recalled the heartbreaking moment her father told her he feared he would die as firefighters struggled to find him.  

‘He was on the floor talking to me, and I am crying telling him, ‘Break the window. Try to break it,” she told Boston-based channel WCVB.

‘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’. 

‘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’.’ 

It’s unclear whether the man made it out alive.  

Five firefighters were also treated at hospital and each has since been released, Bacon said

Fire Chaplain Michael Racine said the fire was the worst loss of life he had ever experienced

Local Fire Chaplain Michael Racine said the fire was the most harrowing loss of life he had ever experienced. 

‘In all my years of being a Fire Chaplain tonight was the worst night of experiencing such loss of life, multiple fatalities in Fall River,’ he wrote on social media. 

‘We pray for those who were injured and those who passed tonight and their families who grieve their loss,’ Racine added. 

Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility has a total of 100 units on the site, which was built in 1999, according to a state website listing care homes. 

The Fall River Police Department said their patrol officers were the first on the scene. They were greeted by a wall of thick black smoke, and broke down doors to begin rescuing residents. 

‘Approximately a dozen non-ambulatory residents were physically carried out by our officers,’ the department said in a statement. 

‘Their bravery and quick action undoubtedly saved many lives.’

Some 50 firefighters were also at the scene, including 30 who were off-duty at the time but sprang into action when they heard about the horrific incident.  

This is a breaking news story with updates to follow.