Watch Live: Fall River, Massachusetts fire chief update on deadly assisted living fire

CBS News

3 days ago

There's no word yet on what caused the tragic deadly fire at the Gabriel House assisted living home in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon will have an update at 1 p.m. Tuesday on the investigation. You can watch it live on CBS News Boston in the video above.
Nine residents, all over the age of 60, were killed in the fire Sunday night. Thirty were hurt and one remained in critical condition Tuesday. Bristol County District Attorney Tom Quinn said the cause "does not appear to be suspicious at this time."
The owner of Gabriel House, Dennis Etzkorn, said he's cooperating with authorities and told the Boston Globe he will "provide them with any information they may need."
Investigators are looking at several possible issues that may have made fighting the fire and saving residents more difficult. Bacon said air conditioners in the windows were obstructions for firefighters during the rescues.
Resident Lorraine Ferrara said when she walked into the hallway during the fire she was hit by hot water from the sprinkler system. She went back into her room and later was saved by a firefighter who broke a window and got her out onto a ladder.
"She didn't hear any smoke detectors"
Bill Perlo's sister has lived in Gabriel House for 17 years. She told him the sprinklers did go off during the fire, but there were no smoke detectors. She was saved from her basement room by a firefighter.
"She didn't hear any smoke detectors. That's the one thing, the common thing I heard when I was talking to all the people yesterday. If that was the case, maybe someone should look into that," Perlo told reporters Tuesday.
Some residents told WBZ-TV Monday they heard alarms in the hallways, but not the rooms, during the fire.
The alarms were heard in the background during a news conference Monday morning, hours after the fire. However, Bacon told reporters he didn't know if they were working at the time of the fire.
WBZ has reached out to Etzkorn for comment on the sprinklers, smoke detectors and staffing at the home on the night of the fire, but he has not yet responded.
Fall River Fire Department staffing
The firefighters' union said Monday that the Fall River Fire Department was understaffed. Edward Kelly, the general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters said there would have been eight more firefighters at the scene if they had been staffed properly. Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan said the city staffs the department to the number the fire chief requests.
The National Fire Protection Association recommends four firefighters per company. The union said most Fall River companies operate with three. However, the President of the Massachusetts Fire Chiefs' Association said many departments across the state struggle to meet that ideal standard.