River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon deferred all questions about the fire investigation to the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services.

The names of seven of the nine people who died in the Fall River fire on July 13 have been released to the public.

The Gabriel House assisted living facility did not perform fire drills or train workers in evacuation procedures and was also understaffed and poorly maintained, according to a current and former employee interviewed in the aftermath of the fatal fire there that killed nine residents.

Residents of the Gabriel House in Fall River, Massachusetts described the terrifying moments that smoke filled the assisted living home​ and they had to find a way to escape.

At a press conference Tuesday, July 15, outside FRFD headquarters, Bacon said the city has typically relied on overtime for coverage in the event of a crisis -- but in an event like the Gabriel House “you can never have enough staff,” and that he is primarily focused on the lives that were saved.

A Massachusetts assisted-living center where nine residents died in a fire was cited for failing to immediately report more than two dozen health and safety incidents, according to

The names of seven of the nine victims who died in a fire at an assisted living home in Fall River, Massachusetts,​ have been released by the Bristol County District Attorney.

A fire that tore through an assisted living facility in Fall River has claimed the lives of nine people, officials said early Monday.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey praised first responders in Fall River for their “heroic” work in preventing an “unimaginable loss of life” in a fire at an assisted living facility on Sunday night.