FALL RIVER, MASS. (WHDH) - Fall River fire officials are calling for updated state and national fire codes nearly one year after a deadly fire at an assisted living facility in the city last year that claimed the lives of 10 people.
The blaze marked the state’s deadliest fire in decades. Ten residents were killed when the assisted living facility went up in flames on July 13, 2025. Twenty others were injured.
On Wednesday, Fall River Fire Chief Jeff Bacon prepared a two-part demonstration highlighting the importance of making sure sprinkler systems are up-to-date and working properly in case of fire. In the first demonstration, the sprinklers activated in a burning room in approximately 80 seconds. In the second demonstration, the sprinklers were shut off entirely.
“You saw the level of smoke production, you saw the heat that was produced at the ceiling level, and you go in there and you look, it was a cushion. A single cushion on a single recliner that produced all that heat and all that smoke,” Bacon said of the demonstration.
Officials kept close watch as the flames quickly spread throughout the room.
“I can see from my thermal imaging camera, the entire room in there is on fire. That means it’s over 1,500 degrees in the room where the fire started,” said Shane Ray, President of the National Fire Sprinkler Association.
The damage in the first fire where the sprinklers went off was not so bad, but the room was completely charred after the second fire with no sprinkler system operating.
Officials said the Gabriel House tragedy happened because fire suppression equipment in the building had been recalled, but not replaced, and some units failed. Though city officials said the system had been inspected, outdated equipment was not identified. They said state and federal codes do not require close up, annual inspections.
“It’s difficult to identify a recalled sprinkler in the current standards. So, the current standard calls for you to look at the sprinkler from the ground level. That’s not enough to identify a recalled sprinkler. So what you really need to do is have someone get up close and personal with that sprinkler – you’re going to get on a ladder to look at this one,” said Capt. Joshua Hetzler, Fall River Fire Assistant Fire Marshal.
The newer sprinkler systems replaced heads with an O-ring with a model that has a special gasket that engineers say work better.
“There are still millions of them out there that need to get addressed, and we’re trying to find a way to heighten the awareness and to heighten the enforcement, and put some teeth into the standard to make sure these get replaced,” said Mike Jonias, Chief Engineer at the National Fire Sprinkler Association.
Fall River fire officials said they are currently working with state and federal regulators to try and get fire codes updated.
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