Smoking or oxygen machine may have caused deadly fire at Massachusetts assisted-living home
Findings in the July 13th fire at Gabriel House assisted living here in Fall River under Massachusetts law, the district attorney's office has the legal authority and duty to investigate all unattended deaths in Bristol County. The loss of 10 residents from the fire at Gabriel House was an unprecedented tragedy for the victims, their families, and the community. Like everyone here, we mourn their loss and offer our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones who are still grieving and anybody impacted by this terrible tragedy. I would like to thank the first responders for their efforts in assisting the residents of Gabriel House during the fire. Firefighters and police officers risked their own personal safety and rescuing and evacuating residents under very difficult circumstances. I commend them for their actions, and we all owe them *** debt of gratitude. For more than *** week, Bristol County prosecutors and state police assigned to my office have worked very closely with the agencies represented here. The investigation being conducted by these agencies is very active and will be ongoing for some period of time. We recognize the public interest surrounding this significant event and the needs of families for for some information on the origin and cause of this fire. It was clear after *** preliminary examination of the scene and initial interviews that the fire did not appear to have been set intentionally during this past week, investigators have retrieved and recovered more evidence, reviewed video footage. And spoken to more witnesses, the conclusion remains the same that the fire was accidental. Before we hear from the state fire marshal on the cause of the fire, I would like to ask Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon to step forward and say *** few words, Chief. Thank you, DA Quinn. Uh, first and foremost, I want to express what I've heard from every member of our department and the Fall River Public safety community over the past week. The Gabriel House victims, the survivors and their families have not left our thoughts for *** single minute since last Sunday night. I can't imagine the loss they suffered or the pain they feel. What I can say is that every firefighter at the scene that night gave 100% and then gave more. To preserve as many lives as they could under catastrophic conditions. This includes dozens of off duty personnel who raced to the scene to help. We have *** philosophy in the fire service. You risk *** little to save *** little and you risk *** lot to save *** lot, and they risked everything in hopes that others might live. So we mourned the lives lost and the decades of family memories that were erased as *** fire, smoke, and intense heat tore through Gabriel House. I ask that you say *** prayer for these families, and I also ask that you spare *** thought for the first responders who are confronting their own trauma. They did *** job no one should ever be asked to do. And I know they would do it again. They represented the very highest traditions of the fire service. Finally, I want to recognize the behind the scenes work of our fire prevention bureau and fire investigators Deputy Chief Neil Furtado, Captain Eric Caffrey, Lieutenant Doug Rosenberg, and others have been working around the clock with the fire marshal's office, the DA's office, and state police. Their experience and expertise helped bring us to where we are this afternoon and I'm deeply grateful for their commitment and professionalism. Thank you. Thank you, Chief, um. At this time I'd like to call on State Fire Marshal John Davin to discuss the findings related to the origin and cause of the fire. Marsh. Keep your head out the window. Thank you, District Attorney Quinn. Our primary goal at Gabriel House is to determine the origin and cause of the fire, where the fire started and what started it. I want to recognize the tremendous work of our state police fire investigators who led this investigation. You've all seen some footage and heard some firsthand accounts, but it's difficult to imagine the fire damage at the scene and the chaos reflected in the conflicting witness testimonies. These factors can make or break an investigation. This work would not have been possible without Chief Bacon's steady leadership and the constant collaboration of the Fall River Fire Department. I also want to thank the state police bomb squad, collision analysis and analysis and reconstruction services, and the drone unit for their technological contributions to this investigation. The Bristol County State Police Detective unit was an invaluable resource for us starting on the night of July 13th and continuing through today. And I especially want to thank the District Attorney Quinn and his team. Their assistance and expertise with various legal processes has allowed us to gather important evidence associated with this case. Investigators determined that the Gabor House fire began in *** residences room located on the left side of the 2nd floor of the structure. As the district attorney said, they found no evidence of an intentionally set fire in this room. They found no signs that cooking, lighting, heating, electrical outlets, or other appliances contribute to the ignition of this fire. They found no candles, incense, or related items. They did locate the damaged remains of *** battery powered scooter. We believe that the damage was product of the fire rather than the cause. Investigators also identified an oxygen concentrator and numerous smoking materials in the room. Tragically, the occupant was among those who lost their lives on July 13th, and we could not speak to that resident to get an account of the fire in its earliest stages. As *** result, the available evidence left to them was two possible causes. One was an electrical or *** mechanical failure involving the oxygen concentrator. The other. Was improper use or disposal of smoking materials. We use *** document known as NFPA 921. It's the internationally recognized framework for evidence-based fire investigation. NFPA 921 recommends that investigators consider the cause undetermined when they can't narrow down multiple potential factors to one singular cause. For these reasons we have at this time classified this fire as undetermined with two possible ignition sources, both of which were clearly accidental. Regardless of the exact cause, there's one additional factor we need to address. Investigators believe the presence of medical oxygen played *** significant role in the fire's rapid spread and the ensuing tragedy. Oxygen is *** necessary component of any fire, and it was present in the area of origin and other locations at Gabriel House. In an oxygen-rich environment, the fire will ignite more readily and spread more rapidly and burn at higher temperatures. Home oxygen was *** known factor in about 20 fire deaths and more than 3 dozen injuries in Massachusetts over the past 10 years, and it was *** suspected factor and many more. Most of these incidents involve smoking materials, which are the leading cause of fatal fires here in Massachusetts and across the nation. And tragically, just like at Gabriel House, the victims were mainly older adults at increased risk due to health or mobility issues. Please, there's truly no safe way to smoke, but smoking is especially dangerous when home oxygen is in use. No one should smoke around medical oxygen. Last Sunday night, Chief Bacon said something to me that that stuck with me. He called this an unfathomable tragedy, and he's absolutely correct. The loss of life, the centuries of family history and memories that were taken. The fear and the heartache we cannot begin to measure the depths. Nothing will undo what happened to Gabriel House. But we can do everything in our power to understand it and prevent it from ever happening again. Thank you very much. Thank you, Marsh Marshall Debin, uh. Again, these, uh, preliminary findings and an ongoing investigation that we believe are important to release to the public at this time. Uh, there are other aspects of this ongoing investigation that, uh, we're not simply in *** position to discuss at this point. Uh, we'll field some questions, uh, if we're able to respond to them. Yes sir. Um, when did, uh, the fire start exactly? Precise time, um, was it early, I think it was early Monday morning this past Monday, uh, and fire department and uh emergency personnel responded to, uh, the alarm. You don't have *** specific time for that? If you'd like me to so the the the box alarm, the automatic alarm was the first reporting uh alarm at our dispatch center and that came in, uh, shortly after 9:30 p.m. I believe it was 9:38 or 9:39. And, and sorry, just to follow up, um, uh, where in the building were people rescued by first responders and what was the time frame roughly from when the first person was rescued to the last. Uh, that's ongoing part of what we're, we're sorting through. This is ***, *** major scene. what you're referring to is what we call on the fire service of post incident analysis on *** typical 3 decker fire that takes *** couple hours on this fire. It's gonna take *** couple weeks to really put together, um, the stories from the 35 responders that were in there and all their actions at that fire, um, so I ask that you give us some patience so that we can make sure we have the accurate information for you. Was smoking allowed in the rooms or was that *** violation of any rules? I, I, I wouldn't comment on that at this point. This investigation is ongoing. It involves *** lot of many different aspects to it, um, and. We're gonna continue to investigate, but I wouldn't comment on that at that point as much as they should. Well, the issue of the sprinklers are part of an ongoing, the ongoing investigation evidence is being collected and evaluated, and that's all I would comment on on that issue at this point. So the other things that are part of this ongoing investigation beyond the sprinklers, smoking in the rooms? What, what are some of the things you're looking into right now? Well, as, uh, Chief Bacon mentioned, there's another, *** number of aspects to this again, uh, we want to provide some information, but, uh, I think just anything that's relevant to the fire and, uh, what transpired, um, we have 10 people who are deceased, others were injured, um, it's *** significant endeavor and you know, again I want to compliment uh the the uh. Investigators for truly working together. I was at the scene yesterday. It's *** significant, uh, scene to process *** number of people involved and, uh, various aspects of this are being investigated we just mentioned you've heard of the cause and origin. That's the first point to actually say this was not an intentionally set fire. That's *** significant issue in the case. Uh, and you heard, uh, Marshall explain some of the specifics of that, and there are other things we're gonna investigate. I'm not gonna get into all of that now. The, the, the reference to the sprinklers is something that's under investigation, uh, and other, other relevant issues that you're gonna find *** cause but within the first two weeks. How optimistic will you actually be able to determine *** cause rather than right now that it's unmined. I don't understand. I mean, cause meaning whether it is in terms of. So right now it's undetermined because as I said, we still, we have, you know, the, the home oxygen use, the smoking material, and the oxygen concentrator. So, um, we may not be able to define between the two, but we're gonna continue to investigate but I don't have *** time frame of. When that will, when that will happen, can you tell us what the, the, uh, causes undetermined causes that. Second floor, left side of the building. In addition to the, do you guys know if anyone called 911 from the scene? Yeah, I haven't been able to sort through all those, but there were certainly 911 calls that were received, um, shortly thereafter, if not simultaneous, as the alarm coming in. the alarm was it *** pool or what how does that work? I don't have that information that's gonna be part of the investigation when they uh determine through the uh through the fire panel in the building. We most of the fatalities concentrated on that left side of the building where the fire started. Again, we're still putting that together, so that's something that we'll we'll get to you once we know that accurately. How did the rest of the building and what factors accelerated the fire. We're still looking into that as part of our um our post incident analysis. I think that the marshals, uh, spoke pretty well about the, uh, the oxygen in the building being *** factor, um, so we're, we're still that's still part of the investigation.
Smoking or oxygen machine may have caused deadly fire at Massachusetts assisted-living home
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Updated: 1:53 PM CDT Jul 22, 2025
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Smoking materials or an oxygen machine issue may have sparked the deadly fire at Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility in Fall River, Massachusetts, investigators announced Tuesday.The fire started in a resident's room, according to Massachusetts Fire Marshal Jon Davine.Ten residents died in the fire that began the evening of July 13. The victims of the fire ranged in age from 61 to 86.Dozens of others were injured.Davine said investigators believe the fire began in a room on the left side and second floor of the Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility, where one resident died. There were no signs of cooking, lighting, heating, electrical outlets or appliances contributing to the fire. Smoking materials were found in the room and investigators found the damaged remains of a battery-powered scooter. The fire is considered to be unintentional, according to preliminary findings discussed by District Attorney Thomas Quinn.Officials said possible causes could be a failure involving the oxygen concentrator or the improper use or disposal of smoking material. The presence of medical oxygen likely played a significant role in the fire's spread. Earlier Tuesday, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced that her administration would expedite funding for Fall River and nine other communities to hire more first responders.She said Fall River would receive $1.2 million of the $5.7 million program. Last week, Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan and the firefighters' union announced a plan to use overtime shifts to staff more of the city's fire trucks with four firefighters, instead of three. One former resident is suing as public officials continue work on emergency response capabilities following the deadly fire.According to a lawsuit filed Monday in Bristol Superior Court, Steven Oldrid was a resident living in a studio apartment of the Gabriel House. Oldrid alleges that he was trapped in his room during the fire, suffered smoke inhalation and respiratory distress, and ultimately lost consciousness.Oldrid also alleges that conditions were unsafe prior to the fire. "The subject facility was not properly managed, staffed, maintained, or supervised; residency rules were not enforced; and emergency response procedures were not in place," the lawsuit states. Oldrid said the negligent state of the facility when the fire struck caused him to "suffer injury to an already compromised physical state."Oldrid's lawsuit may not be the only legal action brewing in response to the fire. He is represented by Plymouth-based attorney Michael O'Malley, but a spokesperson for injury law firm Morgan & Morgan said last week that they were retained by the family of another resident. Gabriel House is owned by Dennis Etzkorn, who has said he is cooperating with investigations into the blaze.The owners of the Gabriel House issued this statement about the fire Monday through spokesperson George Regan:"There are no words to adequately convey the depths of our grief and shock over the devastating events of July 13 at the Gabriel House. Indeed, to call what occurred that night a tragedy is an understatement. Our hearts are broken for the victims and their families; their losses will never be forgotten."We are eternally grateful to the Fall River Fire Department and Fall River Police Department for their heroic response to the fire, and we also thank the ambulance companies and medical personnel who provided exemplary and compassionate care to our victims."The Gabriel House has been a fixture in the community for decades, and our staff – half of whom have been with us for 10 years or more – is deeply dedicated to improving the lives of our residents every day. We take pride in knowing that we make assisted living possible for many community members in need who might not otherwise be able to obtain that assistance. We are currently providing temporary housing to residents who were displaced by the fire."Ensuring the safety of our residents has always been our paramount responsibility since our purchase of Gabriel House in late 1999. Maintaining compliance with all safety and building codes has always been our priority, and there were quarterly inspections of the fire suppression system – the latest as recently as five days prior to the fire."Gabriel House continues to work closely with state and local fire investigators as they seek the cause, origin, and potential contributing factors to the fire, and have provided them with all records related to the building’s safety."One focus of the investigation has been the status of the building’s fire suppression system, or sprinkler system, and investigators have taken several sprinkler heads for further investigation. Among the information we have provided is documentation of regular tests of the sprinklers by the vendor, the most recent of which was performed on July 8 of this year. That test reported the sprinkler system to be in working order."We will continue to provide investigators with whatever assistance they need. We, like them, realize the importance of knowing exactly what caused this catastrophe, and if there were factors that made it worse. Our community, our residents, and most of all, the families who have suffered these unimaginable losses, deserve nothing less. We deeply value our standing in the Fall River community and will continue to strive every day to be a responsible, compassionate, and caring neighbor."
Smoking materials or an oxygen machine issue may have sparked the deadly fire at Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility in Fall River, Massachusetts, investigators announced Tuesday.
The fire started in a resident's room, according to Massachusetts Fire Marshal Jon Davine.
Ten residents died in the fire that began the evening of July 13. The victims of the fire ranged in age from 61 to 86.
Dozens of others were injured.
Davine said investigators believe the fire began in a room on the left side and second floor of the Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility, where one resident died. There were no signs of cooking, lighting, heating, electrical outlets or appliances contributing to the fire. Smoking materials were found in the room and investigators found the damaged remains of a battery-powered scooter.
The fire is considered to be unintentional, according to preliminary findings discussed by District Attorney Thomas Quinn.
Officials said possible causes could be a failure involving the oxygen concentrator or the improper use or disposal of smoking material. The presence of medical oxygen likely played a significant role in the fire's spread.
Earlier Tuesday, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced that her administration would expedite funding for Fall River and nine other communities to hire more first responders.
She said Fall River would receive $1.2 million of the $5.7 million program.
, Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan and the firefighters' union announced a plan to use overtime shifts to staff more of the city's fire trucks with four firefighters, instead of three.
One former resident is suing as public officials continue work on emergency response capabilities following the deadly fire.
According to a lawsuit filed Monday in Bristol Superior Court, Steven Oldrid was a resident living in a studio apartment of the Gabriel House. Oldrid alleges that he was trapped in his room during the fire, suffered smoke inhalation and respiratory distress, and ultimately lost consciousness.
Oldrid also alleges that conditions were unsafe prior to the fire.
"The subject facility was not properly managed, staffed, maintained, or supervised; residency rules were not enforced; and emergency response procedures were not in place," the lawsuit states.
Oldrid said the negligent state of the facility when the fire struck caused him to "suffer injury to an already compromised physical state."
Oldrid's lawsuit may not be the only legal action brewing in response to the fire. He is represented by Plymouth-based attorney Michael O'Malley, but a spokesperson for injury law firm Morgan & Morgan said last week that they were retained by the family of another resident.
Gabriel House is owned by Dennis Etzkorn, who has said he is cooperating with investigations into the blaze.
The owners of the Gabriel House issued this statement about the fire Monday through spokesperson George Regan:
"There are no words to adequately convey the depths of our grief and shock over the devastating events of July 13 at the Gabriel House. Indeed, to call what occurred that night a tragedy is an understatement. Our hearts are broken for the victims and their families; their losses will never be forgotten.
"We are eternally grateful to the Fall River Fire Department and Fall River Police Department for their heroic response to the fire, and we also thank the ambulance companies and medical personnel who provided exemplary and compassionate care to our victims.
"The Gabriel House has been a fixture in the community for decades, and our staff – half of whom have been with us for 10 years or more – is deeply dedicated to improving the lives of our residents every day. We take pride in knowing that we make assisted living possible for many community members in need who might not otherwise be able to obtain that assistance. We are currently providing temporary housing to residents who were displaced by the fire.
"Ensuring the safety of our residents has always been our paramount responsibility since our purchase of Gabriel House in late 1999. Maintaining compliance with all safety and building codes has always been our priority, and there were quarterly inspections of the fire suppression system – the latest as recently as five days prior to the fire.
"Gabriel House continues to work closely with state and local fire investigators as they seek the cause, origin, and potential contributing factors to the fire, and have provided them with all records related to the building’s safety.
"One focus of the investigation has been the status of the building’s fire suppression system, or sprinkler system, and investigators have taken several sprinkler heads for further investigation. Among the information we have provided is documentation of regular tests of the sprinklers by the vendor, the most recent of which was performed on July 8 of this year. That test reported the sprinkler system to be in working order.
"We will continue to provide investigators with whatever assistance they need. We, like them, realize the importance of knowing exactly what caused this catastrophe, and if there were factors that made it worse. Our community, our residents, and most of all, the families who have suffered these unimaginable losses, deserve nothing less. We deeply value our standing in the Fall River community and will continue to strive every day to be a responsible, compassionate, and caring neighbor."
