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Boston Globe

Fall River firefighters: ‘There are no words for what I've seen'

The Fall River fire, Advertisement Many of the survivors, some of whom have severe medical needs and are on Medicaid, are scattered in assisted-living facilities across Eastern Massachusetts and are unsure what their future holds. The fire has raised questions When the firefighters gathered together this past week, their shared bond was at the forefront of their minds. They greeted each other with handshakes, back slaps, and inside jokes in a firehouse kitchen. But quickly, they shifted to mournful, head-shaking recollections of what each of them had experienced in the worst fire they had fought. Evangelista, 29, recalled that he had been responding to an overdose when the alarm sounded about 9:30 p.m. for a fire at Gabriel House. Immediately, he shifted priorities and rushed to the three-story, horseshoe-shaped building not far from the city center. Advertisement Michael Viveiros, aboard Ladder 2, recalled being startled when he wheeled onto Oliver Street and saw the building engulfed in fire and smoke — but no people. He realized immediately that the situation was dire, and that few people, if any, had yet evacuated. Many of the 69 residents there were dependent on wheelchairs. 'The thought process was we have to get it done and get it done quickly,' said Viveiros, 42. 'Your adrenaline kicks in, and you want to do things you shouldn't.' They found flames spouting from the front of the building, and, knowing people were on all three floors, urgently called for reinforcements. 'I kept thinking we need more help,' said District Chief David Jennings Jr., one of the commanders at the scene. 'For a while, we were dealing with just eight guys.' Eventually, about 35 firefighters responded. Once the residents realized help had arrived, they began shouting from their windows, pleading for their lives as smoke billowed behind them. Another district chief yelled, 'We need 120 percent! This is what we train for,' the firefighters said. Evangelista recalled thinking, 'This isn't what you train for. It was one person and then another person' — unlike many house fires that affect only a few people. Complicating the response at Gabriel House was the large number of residents with medical needs, some of them severe. 'Some guys went in with hoses, and some guys went in to do the rescues,' said C.J. Ponte, a 21-year department veteran who drove Engine 9 to the blaze. Other firefighters grabbed ground ladders and began slapping them against the walls. Advertisement 'Then there's the worst decision: Which one is in the most danger?' Viveiros said. Jose Fletcher, a 33-year-old firefighter, said the scene shifted by the second, with another life to be saved, another challenge, and another snap decision about what to do amid the chaos. 'We started to evacuate people, and it was like Whac-A-Mole,' Fletcher said. One person would be carried down a ladder, and then another would be spotted. On and on. In one rescue, Fletcher dropped his oxygen tank to conserve energy, climbed a ladder, and struggled to extract a large woman from a small window. 'The windows weren't made to pull people out of, and she was fighting me the whole time,' Fletcher recalled. She pushed against his oxygen mask in panic, preventing Fletcher from breathing. He ripped the mask off despite the choking smoke, grabbed her in a bear hug, and slowly carried her down the ladder amid the frenzy. After bringing her to safety, Fletcher slumped to the ground exhausted, only to discover that he couldn't get up. Not until later did Fletcher learn he had dislocated his right knee. 'We got back here at 2:30 [a.m.],' Fletcher said in the firehouse, 'trying to figure out how we just did what we did.' Evangelista said the rescues continued unabated for about an hour. 'It was a grab and go. Bring them out and go back,' he said. 'Some of them were definitely on their last breath. But you ignore what else is around you and just focus on what's happening in front of you.' Advertisement In one rescue, a makeshift pulley was put together to lower a resident estimated to weigh 400 pounds. In others, firefighters laid victims across their outstretched arms as they grabbed the sides of their ladders and descended rung by rung to safety. Some Fire Department drivers left their vehicles, wearing only a department T-shirt, to enter the burning building and search for victims. One such driver was Nathanial Anderson, 43, an Army combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan who drove Ladder 2. 'I saw heads popping out windows, and I could hear the screams. You couldn't sit outside and do nothing,' Anderson said. 'Every voice you could hear you knew needed help.' So inside he went, with no oxygen tank or other gear, looking to clear residents from the second and third floors of one wing. He burst through emergency doors with a sledgehammer, scouring the smoke-choked corridors and rooms for victims. 'I kept telling him to leave, but he wouldn't listen,' Evangelista said. When Anderson reached the third floor, he could advance only two rooms down a pitch-black corridor. 'I couldn't take the smoke and the heat there,' said Anderson, who was forced to retreat. In all, Anderson carried six residents to safety — 'some were still vocal, some were fading' — as he returned again and again to join his comrades. Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon, in a later news conference, choked up with emotion when recalling Anderson's bravery. 'This was the worst-case scenario of what you can possibly expect from a fire,' said Michael O'Reagan, president of Local 1314 of the International Association of Fire Fighters. Advertisement A day after the fire, Edward Kelly, general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, alleged that Fall River's firetrucks were understaffed. More victims might have lived, he said, had each truck had four firefighters — a claim quickly dismissed by Bacon as 'speculation.' Mayor Paul Coogan said city officials have decided that an additional four trucks will have a minimum of four firefighters. At the time of the fire, two of the 10 fire companies in Fall River were staffed with four firefighters, which is the national safety standard. The city also said it will have 38 firefighters working each shift, an increase from 35. O'Reagan said more staffing is needed for the Fire Department, but on this day, the focus centered on lifesaving drama that unfolded with the personnel available. 'I don't think a single person here thinks of himself as a hero,' Ponte said. 'It's not a job, it's a calling. It's something everyone here wanted to do.' Bacon said the death toll could have been several times higher if not for the quick, efficient, and effective response of Fall River's firefighters, five of whom suffered minor injuries. About 30 residents of Gabriel House were also injured. Following the fire, the crews returned to their stations, processing what they had just witnessed, but prepared to go out again if needed. Jennings said he continues to second-guess whether other decisions could have been made at the fire. 'We beat ourselves up,' Jennings said. 'What could we have done better? Maybe another decision could have gotten to another window.' For these firefighters, the memory of Gabriel House will be indelible. 'I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with it. I feel something's off,' Evangelista said, speaking slowly and carefully. 'I'm not a guy who talks about emotion, who shows emotion, but this goes to show what we saw that night.' Advertisement 'This will forever change the way we operate,' he said. 'The next call, will it be as big as this one?' Brian MacQuarrie can be reached at