When the deadly fire broke out Sunday night at Gabriel House in Fall River, Massachusetts, the assisted living facility had 70 residents and just two staff members working, according to the mayor and an employee.

River fire chief gave a harrowing recount of the night nine people were killed in a fire at the Gabriel House.

Heartbreak and questions still linger in Fall River after a fire tore through an assisted living facility on Sunday, killing nine people.

River will hire up to 20 more firefighters and offer more overtime to increase the number of crew members working each shift following this week's deadly fire at an assisted living facility.

The eighth victim in the fatal fire that ripped through the Gabriel House assisted living facility in Fall River on Sunday has been identified. Joseph Wilansky, 77, was identified by Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III on Wednesday.

A fire at Gabriel House assisted living in Fall River, Massachusetts, resulted in multiple deaths and injuries. City is responding and investigating.

The state Executive Office of Elder Affairs cited the facility for seven deficiencies, four of which were repeat problems.

More than 75 percent of Gabriel House residents are enrolled in Medicaid, state officials have said, and it charges significantly less than a typical assisted living facility does for private-paying patients.

As state and local authorities probe Sunday's deadly fire at a Fall River assisted living facility, a firefighter’s union is already claiming a shortage of firefighters may have played a role in its devastation.

River Mayor Paul Coogan addressing the media on July 16, 2025. (WLNE)FALL RIVER, Mass. (WLNE) — The Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan and IAFF General President Edward Kelly said that staffing levels of fire companies in the city would be brought to the “minimal national standard” after the deadly fire at an assisted living facility on July 13.

The investigation into the fire’s cause is ongoing but “does not appear to be suspicious,” according to the Bristol County district attorney's office.