Authorities in the US state of Massachusetts have said that at least nine people are dead and 30 injured after a fire churned through an assisted living facility.
Five firefighters were among those taken to the hospital and later released after responding to the blazes at Gabriel House, home to about 70 residents, on Sunday night in Fall River.
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“This is an unfathomable tragedy for the families involved and the Fall River community,” Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said in a statement on Monday. “On behalf of the Fall River Fire Department, I want to express our heartfelt condolences to the loved ones who are grieving this morning.”
Firefighters met with heavy smoke and flames when they first arrived at the facility before entering to rescue trapped residents, one of whom remains in critical condition. The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services says the cause of the fire is under investigation.
“It’s kind of just a whirlwind of trying to figure out what’s happening, how this could happen in such a major way,” Jarren Oldrid, whose 67-year-old father Steven Oldrid was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation, told the news agency Associated Press.
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About 50 firefighters responded to the incident, 30 of whom were off duty.
Chief Bacon said that some people were hanging out of the facility’s windows looking to be rescued.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey offered condolences to the victims in a statement on Monday, and promised “the full assistance of the state”.
“A full investigation is already under way,” said Healey. “I know the people of Fall River are strong and resilient, and now is the time for us to all come together to support one another through this terrible tragedy.”
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