FALL RIVER, MASS. (WHDH) - Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said responding to Sunday night’s deadly fire at an assisted living facility was an all hands on deck effort to save as many people as possible.
The large fire at Gabriel House took the lives of nine and injured dozens of others, including responding firefighters.
35 firefighters were immediately on scene to respond to the fire, but the chief said every police officer in the city was there, trying to rescue people from the building, and even EMS workers in the triage area were performing rescues and running into the building.
Bacon said dozens of lives were saved due to the joint response.
“Everybody was rescuing people,” he said. “We have a very strong and powerful public safety presence here in the city of Fall River, and it worked the way it was supposed to last night to save lives.”
Five firefighters were taken to the hospital with minor injuries; they are expected to be okay.
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