FALL RIVER, MASS. (WHDH) - Emergency response units arrived to Gabriel House in Fall River Sunday night for a roaring fire.
The independent and assisted living facility filled with people who have a very hard time making it out of the fire on their own.
That included Ken Pelletier’s Aunt Shirley who uses a walker.
Pelletier told 7NEWS he was watching a live stream of the scene online. When he saw how close the smoke was to his aunt’s third floor unit, he jumped in his car.
Shirley ended up on one of the two busses filled with displaced residents near the chaotic scene. She was okay, but shaken up.
Shirley told Pelletier she was outside at the time smoking a cigarette, and that’s when all the sudden, she saw sparks fly.
“She had stated she saw some sparks and some flashes and it was like ‘woof,’ she saw the flames,” said Pelletier. “It was just so quick, and [I] made my way to both busses, it was probably under a minute before the busses left. If I was any later, I would have never run into my aunt and probably still be wondering where she is and what’s going on.”
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