FALL RIVER, MASS. (WHDH) – Dozens of survivors were taken from Sunday night’s fire at Gabriel House, an assisted living facility in Fall River to a temporary facility at St. Anne’s Hospital.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan visited the facility and toured it, meeting with several of the people taken there.
Coogan says those taken there have had breakfast, and a concern of many is to make sure they can receive any medication left at Gabriel House. Some medication left behind was exposed to smoke, smoke that officials call a “deadly force.”
7NEWS was able to speak with some of the survivors at the temporary facility.
“It was crazy,” said Robert Cavral, who lived at Gabriel House. “I mean people running out everywhere, people helping and trying to help, but the first responders did an excellent job. You’ve gotta give them credit. Did an excellent job getting people out, pulling them out of windows.”
“I got up, I opened my door, smoke just threw me back into the room and I tried again to get out,” said Loraine Ferrara, who lived at Gabriel House. “I was near the exit door but I couldn’t reach the exit door. The smoke and the sprinkler system was too much for me so I went into my bathroom. I yelled out my window, I yelled down ‘help help’ to the fire department and a firefighter came up and carried me down the ladder.”
“I mean, how sad,” said Donna Murphy, who lived at Gabriel House. “People on the third flood, on that side, didn’t stand a chance. And people on this side, unless you really knew what time of day it was, didn’t stand a chance.”
Nine people died in the fire. A GoFundMe has been set up for the families of the victims involved.
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