Gabriel House was an assisted living residence, according to the state of Massachusetts. Here's how the state defines that

Shirley Chambra was outside smoking a cigarette when she saw sparks and then flames at her home: the Gabriel House assisted-living facility in Fall River, Massachusetts.

At a press conference Tuesday, July 15, outside FRFD headquarters, Bacon said the city has typically relied on overtime for coverage in the event of a crisis -- but in an event like the Gabriel House “you can never have enough staff,” and that he is primarily focused on the lives that were saved.

You could have had 100 firefighters show up on that scene and it wouldn’t have been enough,” Jeffrey Bacon said at a news briefing outside the fire department’s headquarters Tuesday.

Despite efforts by scores of firefighters – nearly half of whom were off duty at the time – and “every police officer in the city,” nine Gabriel House residents died in the fire, according to officials. Those killed range in age from 61 to 86. Dozens of others were injured, one critically.

A Massachusetts native, Willett spent more than 20 years as a secretary and even worked briefly as a cocktail waitress, her granddaughter said. Her home was always a base for everyone in her family, Mallowes said.

A deadly fire broke out at Gabriel House, an assisted living facility located about 50 miles south of Boston in Fall River, Massachusetts.

Nine people have died in a fire at an assisted living home in Fall River, Massachusetts, according to authorities.