A former employee said she never saw the staff perform fire drills. The local fire chief pushed back at claims that dispatching more firefighters would’ve saved more lives.

Elderly residents – some in wheelchairs and some dependent on oxygen tanks – were blinded by deadly smoke as they tried to escape an assisted-living facility in Fall River, Massachusetts, which caught fire Sunday evening.

Gabriel House had seen better days. The 100-unit assisted-living facility that burned Sunday night, killing nine people so far, opened in 1999.

The October 2023 compliance report listed several violations for Gabriel House, connected to missing documentation.

Around 50 firefighters, including dozens who were off-duty, rushed to Gabriel House in downtown Fall River just before 10 p.m. local time Sunday.

Flames roared through an assisted-living residence in Massachusetts, killing nine people, injuring 30 others and trapping residents inside.

Por MICHAEL CASEY, KIMBERLEE KRUESI, PATRICK WHITTLE y HOLLY RAMERFALL RIVER, Massachusetts, EE.UU. (AP) — Un incendio en una casa para ancianos en Massachusetts cobró la vida de nueve

It’s important to note that these allegations did not involve the Gabriel House assisted living facility and were unrelated to safety concerns.