A Fall River Fire Department station, a stone firehouse with four bay doors
A Fall River Fire Department station. File photo, 2023. Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FALL RIVER Developing, 12:55 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24.

A vehicle crashed into a Fall River home Saturday morning, the city's firefighters union said, and an occupant of the home who was temporarily trapped was freed by the Fire Department, Lt. Matthew Mendes said. The person had what appear to be non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, he said.

Firefighters carried out an extended extrication to free the occupant from beneath the vehicle, the Fall River firefighters union, Local 1314 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said in a statement. Crew members from Engine 2 brought the department's Technical Rescue Truck to the scene for more equipment and help, the union said.

The crash caused extensive structural damage and displaced everyone living in the building, according to the union. Because the building's exterior electrical service was damaged, power was disconnected remotely before National Grid arrived to secure the service, the union said.

The outage

Separately, National Grid's outage map showed 3,004 of the company's 45,554 Fall River customers without power at 8:21 a.m. Saturday, about 6.6% of its customers in the city. By 8:56 a.m., the map showed no Fall River customers out. The map does not list a cause, and no official has said whether that outage was connected to the crash.

What we asked

South Coast 360 News asked the Fall River Police Department at 11:08 a.m. and the Fall River Fire Department at 11:09 a.m. for their accounts of the crash. The questions to police included where it happened, whether anyone was arrested or charged and which unit is handling the case. The questions to the Fire Department included why power was cut and whether the building was deemed unsafe. Neither department had answered as of 12:53 p.m., and this story will be updated as officials release more.

What we know

  • The crash: a vehicle struck a Fall River home Saturday morning, Oct. 24, and an occupant was trapped beneath it, the firefighters union said.
  • The rescue: firefighters freed the occupant after an extended extrication, with the Technical Rescue Truck on scene, the union said.
  • The injured: the occupant was taken to Rhode Island Hospital with what appear to be non-life-threatening injuries, Mendes said.
  • The building: extensive structural damage displaced everyone living there, the union said.
  • Power: power was disconnected remotely because the building's exterior electrical service was damaged, and National Grid arrived to secure the service, the union said.

What we do not know yet: who was driving, what caused the crash, whether anyone will face charges, where in the city it happened and how many people were displaced.

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

Notes

The account of the crash, the rescue, the injuries and the damage comes from statements by Lt. Matthew Mendes and the Fall River firefighters union, which we read on Oct. 24. The outage numbers come from National Grid's own outage map, read at 8:21 and 8:56 a.m. Oct. 24 and again at 12:44 p.m. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. Not heard: the Fall River Police Department and the Fall River Fire Department, which we asked for their accounts at 11:08 and 11:09 a.m. Oct. 24.

Corrections

No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.

Sources (1)
  1. National Grid outage map, Fall River3,004 of 45,554 Fall River customers out at 8:21 a.m.; 0 at 8:56 a.m.; 0 of 45,554 at 12:44 p.m. Read Oct. 24, 2026.