(FALL RIVER, Mass.) — Nine people have been killed and dozens are hurt after a five-alarm fire tore through an assisted-living facility in Fall River, Massachusetts, officials said.
Firefighters, police and other responders descended on the scene of the Sunday night fire at the Gabriel House assisted-living facility, where they found multiple people “hanging out of the windows, screaming and begging to be rescued,” Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said.
Smoke was all over the building, Bacon said.
“This was not a situation where teams arrived and people were able to get out easily — all of these people needed assistance,” Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said. “Many were in wheelchairs, many were immobile, many had oxygen tanks.”
About 12 “non-ambulatory residents were physically carried out by our officers,” according to Fall River police.
Thirty people, including five firefighters, were taken to local hospitals, Bacon said.
One person is in critical condition, Bacon said. The five firefighters have already been released, officials said.
One resident told reporters that he was in his room on Sunday when a first responder told him he had to evacuate immediately.
“I had my oxygen tank hooked on … I get my charger for it, my wallet,” he said. “I went to my room door, I opened it and all the smoke from the hall went right in my face.”
“I thought it was gonna be the end of everything,” he said.
The resident said he couldn’t see anything in front of him through the smoke.
Two responders helped him down the stairs, he said, adding, “I just tried to do my best not to fall.”
The building — which was home to about 70 people — is now clear, officials said.
It’s not clear if the sprinklers went off, officials said.
“My heart goes out to those who are waking up to the most horrific news imaginable about their loved ones this morning,” Healey said in a statement on Monday.
Later at a news conference, the governor expressed her gratitude for the first responders’ quick actions.
“Were it not for that, we would’ve seen an even far — an unimaginable loss of life here, given the vulnerability of this population,” she said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. One official briefed on the probe told ABC News that, as a preliminary matter, the fire does not appear to have been set intentionally. More likely, the source said, it appears to have been caused by some sort of electrical or mechanical problem.
Fall River, near the Massachusetts-Rhode Island border, is about 50 miles south of Boston.
The building was built in 1964 and underwent an exterior remodeling in 2000, according to tax assessment records. It was listed on the assessment form used by the city as having an “average-good” physical condition as of this February, the records said.
ABC News’ Jared Kofsky, Matt Foster and Jessica Gorman contributed to this report.
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