13 Fall River police officers receive state Medal of Valor for Gabriel House fire rescues

FALL RIVER Thirteen Fall River police officers received the state's Medal of Valor on Wednesday, Oct. 14, for their work inside the burning Gabriel House assisted living residence in July 2025, Gov. Maura Healey's office said. The officers were honored at the 43rd annual Trooper George L. Hanna Memorial Awards for Bravery, which the state calls its highest recognition for bravery in law enforcement.

The 18 officers honored this year came from five police departments, and 13 of them were from Fall River, according to the governor's release. The others came from Everett, Burlington, Boston and Holyoke.

Who was honored

The release lists the Fall River recipients as Sgt. Shane Galus, Sgt. Adam Talbot and Officers Mohammed Adelakun, Collin Almeida, Brandon Andrade, Logan Arruda, Taylor Carreiro, Tre'Quan Gardner, Nicholas Kennedy, Jeffrey Louis, Jimmie J. Page, Christopher Silvia and Jacob Swenson.

"Despite heavy smoke, intense flames and rapidly deteriorating conditions, officers repeatedly entered the burning building to rescue residents, many of whom had significant medical and mobility challenges," the release says. Officers climbed fire escapes, carried residents down multiple flights of stairs and used blankets and emergency equipment to move people, it says. Working with other first responders, they helped evacuate more than 50 residents.

"While no award can erase the tragedy or the lives lost, this recognition honors the courage, compassion, and unwavering commitment demonstrated by these officers in the face of extraordinary danger," the Fall River Police Department said in an Oct. 14 post on its Facebook page. The department also recognized the firefighters, emergency medical personnel, dispatchers and other first responders who worked the fire.

The fire department's account

The Fall River Fire Department's after action report on the fire, dated October 2025, logs the fire alarm at Gabriel House, 261 Oliver St., at 9:38 p.m. on July 13, 2025. The report says 53 residents were rescued: 27 carried down ground ladders and 26 brought out through hallways and stairs. Firefighters estimated the 26 were carried out "by both fire and police personnel," the report says.

The report describes police officers helping firefighters put ladders to second and third floor windows, and says porches at the end of each wing served as areas of refuge until firefighters, police officers or EMTs could move residents to collection areas. A credit union parking lot nearby became the triage area. "Without the decisive actions of the FRFD, the Fall River Police Department (FRPD) and Fall River EMS (FREMS), the loss of life would have been far greater," the report says.

Ten people died in the fire, according to the report and the governor's office.

About the award

The Hanna program has two levels. The Medal of Honor is the highest. The Medal of Valor, the second highest, goes to an officer who shows "valor, courage and bravery while disregarding the potential for danger or great risk," according to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, which runs the program. Police agencies nominate officers each year, and a selection committee decides. Group awards are allowed when each officer in the group meets the criteria, the office says.

Everett Detective Daniel Wall Jr. also received the Medal of Valor this year. The Medal of Honor went to Officer Aurise Miedico of Burlington, Officers Jose R. Valenzuela and Gerard Colpoys of Boston and Officer Steven Negron of Holyoke, the release says. Since the awards began in 1983, 200 officers have been recognized.

The awards are named for State Police Trooper George L. Hanna, who was shot and killed Feb. 26, 1983, during a traffic stop in Auburn. His daughters, Deborah and Kimberly, presented the medals with Healey, according to the release.

"Their actions represent the very best of public service and the same commitment to protecting others that defined Trooper George Hanna's life," Healey said in the release.

New flag policy

Healey used the ceremony to announce a Line-of-Duty Commonwealth Flag Policy. Under it, the state will give a Commonwealth flag in a display box to the family of a police officer, firefighter, corrections officer, parole officer or National Guard member who dies in the line of duty, including those who die later from injuries or job hazards. The policy applies to deaths from now on, the release says.

Fire code change

A public comment period comes next on a fire code change tied to the fire. The day after the ceremony, on Oct. 15, the state Board of Fire Prevention Regulations voted to begin adding yearly checks for recalled sprinkler heads to the fire code, a change a Fall River fire captain proposed after the Gabriel House fire. The proposed text is not final, according to the Department of Fire Services.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.