Fall River firefighters honored for Gabriel House fire response
The department's own report on the July 2025 fire says crews rescued 53 residents, 27 of them down ladders.
Updated Oct. 18 with more detail.
FALL RIVER More than 40 Fall River firefighters received awards Friday, Oct. 16, at the Kuss Middle School auditorium for their response to the July 2025 fire at the Gabriel House assisted living residence, NBC 10 News and the Fall River Reporter reported. Gov. Maura Healey and Mayor Paul Coogan attended, the two outlets reported. The fire killed 10 people, according to the department's after action report.
What the department found
The fire department's after action report, posted on the city's website, lays out the night. The fire alarm at Gabriel House, 261 Oliver St., went off at 9:38 p.m. on July 13, 2025. Crews rescued 53 residents, 27 carried down ladders and 26 down hallways and stairs, the report says. "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," it says.
The wood-frame building dates to 1963 and was converted from a hotel to assisted living in 1999. It had sprinklers but no hallway fire doors, the report says. Plywood filled the gaps around window air conditioners, so firefighters brought many residents out through smaller bathroom windows.
The report lists the cause as undetermined, "with two possible accidental ignition sources: smoking materials or an oxygen concentrator failure." It calls medical oxygen in the room where the fire began, and in other rooms, "a significant factor in the rapid fire growth and spread." A review of whether the building met state fire and building codes, which includes the state Department of Fire Services, was still open when the report came out in October 2025.
The report also counts staff. Thirty-three firefighters reached the scene within 15 minutes, while a National Fire Protection Association standard for high-risk buildings like Gabriel House calls for 42 within 10 minutes, it says. It thanks the mayor "for committing to fully staff all engine companies with four firefighters immediately following the fire." Its staffing recommendation reads: "Continue to staff four firefighters on 6 of the 10 apparatus, with the long-term goal of full four-person staffing across the department."
For the first anniversary, July 13 of this year, the mayor's office announced a remembrance in front of Gabriel House to honor "the ten lives lost."
What happens next
The report says the code review is being done by the department's Fire Prevention Bureau, the state Department of Fire Services' Code Compliance and Enforcement Unit, state fire protection engineers and the Bristol County District Attorney's Office. South Coast 360 did not find the review's findings posted on the city's website. Questions can go to fire department headquarters, 140 Commerce Drive, at 508-324-2740, the number on the chief's letterhead in a July 2025 city advisory.
What we do not know yet: South Coast 360 did not find a list from the department of who received which award. We will add it if the department publishes one.
Label: Reported from two news reports.
How we verified this
The ceremony facts appear in both NBC 10 News and the Fall River Reporter, each credited in the text; facts only one of them reported are left out. The background on the fire comes from the Fall River Fire Department's own after action report and a city advisory, both posted on the city's website. We read everything on Oct. 18. The reports differ on the time of the ceremony, so the story gives none. One NBC 10 photo caption dates it Oct. 17; both outlets' stories say Friday, which was Oct. 16. The story names no victims and no one honored. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. South Coast 360 sought comment Sunday from the Fire Department; no reply yet.
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 (7)
- Fall River firefighters honored for response to Gabriel House fireNBC 10 News (WJAR), Oct. 17, 2026. Ceremony held by the department, Kuss Middle School auditorium, more than 40 honored, the governor and mayor present. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Fall River Fire Department to hold awards ceremony to honor response to Gabriel House fireNBC 10 News (WJAR), Oct. 16, 2026. Ceremony on Friday at Kuss, held by the department. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Here are the Fall River firefighters who were honored for their actions during deadly Gabriel House fireFall River Reporter, Oct. 17, 2026. Friday, Kuss Middle School auditorium, 47 names listed, the governor and mayor present. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Gabriel House Fire After Action Report (PDF, 27 pages)Fall River Fire Department, Office of the Fire Chief, October 2025; linked from the department page on fallriverma.gov. Timeline, rescues, building, cause, code review, staffing, thanks to the mayor. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Fire DepartmentCity of Fall River. Links the after action report. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Gabriel House Anniversary (media advisory, July 7, 2026)City of Fall River, mayor's office. July 13 remembrance in front of Gabriel House; "the ten lives lost." Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Media Advisory, Fall River Fire Department (July 17, 2025)City of Fall River, mayor's office press releases. Department media contacts: 508-324-2740, mediarequests@frfd.org. Read Oct. 18, 2026.