The city of Fall River is marking the one-year anniversary Monday of the deadly fire at the Gabriel House assisted living facility that killed 10 people.
Mayor Paul Coogan will join a special ceremony in front of the Gabriel House building at 6:30 p.m. The event was scheduled to feature remarks from first responders who battled the flames, as well as survivors.
“The gathering will honor the ten lives lost in the fire, recognize the strength and resilience of the survivors, and hear from survivors and the first responders who helped save lives that day,” the city said in promoting the event.
Ten residents were killed in the fire and more than 30 people were injured, including at least six firefighters. It was Massachusetts’ deadliest fire in more than four decades.
The fire was deemed accidental. It likely started in a resident’s room from either a failed oxygen concentrator or smoking materials later found in the room, Massachusetts State Fire Marshal’s Office said.
Spurring policy change
The deaths at Gabriel House kicked off a national discussion about staffing levels of emergency crews. More than 30 firefighters were at the scene of the blaze within 15 minutes, according to an after-action report. But national standards call for 42 firefighters within 10 minutes, the report said.
The Gabriel House fire also highlighted the lack of regulations that govern assisted-living facilities.
Questions also surfaced following the July 2025 fire about whether the facility’s sprinkler system functioned properly.
The National Fire Sprinkler Association held a demonstration on Wednesday in a replica of the room where the fire started to advocate for stricter fire safety standards like sprinkler requirements. A safety inspection company and Gabriel House owner Dennis Etzkorn blamed each other in dueling lawsuits for failing to address a faulty sprinkler system.
On Friday, just before the anniversary of the fire, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced her administration finalized new regulations meant to protect older adults living in assisted-living residences in Massachusetts.
““The Gabriel House fire was a heartbreaking tragedy that forever changed the lives of so many families and the Fall River community,” Healey said in a statement. “Over the past year, we’ve worked closely with residents, families, firefighters, first responders, advocates and providers to make sure we learn from that tragedy and take meaningful action.”
New regulations will require fire inspections conducted by local fire departments annually at assisted-living residences. They also require annual fire safety instruction for staff and quarterly fire drills.
Material from previous Ocean State Media reporting and the Associated Press was used in this story.
