9 Killed As Fire Hits Massachusetts Care Home; Dozens Injured

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

FALL RIVER, USA (Worthy News) – The U.S. State of Massachusetts was grieving Monday after nine people were killed and dozens injured when a deadly fire tore through an assisted-living facility in the town of Fall River.

Authorities confirmed the death toll, adding that more than 30 others were injured in the blaze, which spread rapidly through Gabriel House.

It “was an unfathomable tragedy”, said Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon, who recalled that it “was very quick” and “just a very smoky fire.”

The cause of the fire remained under investigation Monday, hours after firefighters, police, and other responders descended on the scene at 09:50 p.m. local time late Sunday.

Bacon told media they found multiple people “hanging out of the windows, screaming and begging to be rescued”

However, Smoke was all over the building, hampering rescue efforts, Bacon suggested.

NON-AMBULATORY RESIDENTS

“This was not a situation where teams arrived and people were able to get out easily — all of these people needed assistance,” Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey added. “Many were in wheelchairs, many were immobile, many had oxygen tanks.”

About 12 “non-ambulatory residents were physically carried out by our officers,” according to Fall River police.

However, authorities confirmed that about 70 people needing assistance lived in the roughly 100-unit building when the fire broke out.

Firefighters and police were seen pulling dozens of people to safety through small windows or by breaking down doors. Some residents who use wheelchairs were reportedly carried out of the building. “We had at least a dozen people rescued over ladders,” Bacon stressed.

As of Monday morning, at least one of the injured is in critical condition, he added, suggesting that the death toll may rise.

Five firefighters who were transported to the hospital with minor injuries have already been released, officials explained.

PRAISING ‘HEROIC WORK’

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey told reporters that the death toll could have been higher. “Were it not for the heroic work, brave work, these men and women showed last night, particularly our fire, police, and [emergency medical services] EMS, we would have seen much greater loss of life,” Healey said early Monday.

The latest blaze was due to raising further questions about safety in nursing homes, which comprise half of the annual fires in the United States, according to previous studies seen by Worthy News.

“For each year from 2012 to 2014, an estimated 5,700 medical facility fires were reported to fire departments in the United States. Nearly half of those, 2,700 fires, were in nursing homes,” according to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS).

“It is estimated that these fires caused fewer than five deaths, 125 injuries, and $13 million in yearly property loss,” the NFIRS stressed.

However, a decade after that report, the more deadly fire at the Gabriel House suggested that more safety measures were expected.

It’s unclear if the [water] sprinklers went off during the fire, but officials acknowledged. “My heart goes out to those who are waking up to the most horrific news imaginable about their loved ones this morning,” Governor Healey added.

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