Police: Three TVs stolen in break-in at former Gabriel House in Fall River
Officers were called Friday morning after a person who maintains the property found signs of a break-in, which police believe happened between Tuesday and Friday, nearly 16 months after a fire there killed 10 people.
FALL RIVER Someone broke into the former Gabriel House on Oliver Street in Fall River this week and took three televisions and other items, police said, more than a year after a fire at the assisted living residence killed 10 people.
Officers went to the property at 261 Oliver St. at about 10:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 6, after a report of a suspected break-in, according to Acting Police Chief J.T. Hoar, whose account the Fall River Reporter published Saturday morning. NBC 10 WJAR reported the same details, attributed to Fall River police, later in the day.
A person who maintains the property found signs that someone had gotten inside without permission and reported several items missing, the three televisions among them, according to Hoar's account. Police believe the break-in happened sometime between Tuesday, Nov. 3, and Friday, Nov. 6.
No one was inside the building when the break-in was discovered, and no suspect has been identified, Hoar said, adding that the case remains under investigation.
The building and the fire
The fire broke out on the night of July 13, 2025, with the building's fire alarm sounding at 9:38 p.m., and 10 people died, according to the Fall River Fire Department's after action report on the fire, dated October 2025. Crews rescued 53 residents, 27 carried down ladders and 26 brought out through hallways and stairs, the report says.
The wood-frame building dates to 1963 and was converted from a hotel into an assisted living residence in 1999, according to the report. It lists the cause of the fire as undetermined, with two possible accidental sources, smoking materials or a failed oxygen concentrator, and it calls medical oxygen in the building "a significant factor in the rapid fire growth and spread."
The report says a review of whether the property met state fire and building codes was still under way as of October 2025, carried out by the fire department's Fire Prevention Bureau, the state Department of Fire Services and the Bristol County District Attorney's Office.
Since the fire
For the first anniversary, the city announced a Monday, July 13, remembrance in front of the building on Oliver Street with Mayor Paul Coogan to honor "the ten lives lost in the fire" and to hear from survivors and the first responders who helped save lives, according to the city's media advisory.
The city and its fire department also worked with the National Fire Sprinkler Association this year on a live fire demonstration that rebuilt the room where the fire started to closely match the conditions that night, the city said. The demonstration then staged two fire scenarios, one protected by a fully working sprinkler system and one without properly working sprinkler protection.
SC360 reported Oct. 15 that the state moved to require yearly checks for recalled sprinkler heads, a change Fall River firefighters proposed after the fire.
What happens next
Fall River police are still investigating the break-in, and anyone with information can call the department at 508-676-8511, the number it lists for reporting a crime.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every fact about the break-in comes from the Fall River police account, which we did not find on the department's own website; we rely on it as the Fall River Reporter and NBC 10 WJAR each published it Saturday, both crediting police, and we credit both in the story. The two accounts agree on the time, the address, the three televisions, the dates and the state of the investigation; the Fall River Reporter names Acting Chief J.T. Hoar as the source. The fire facts come from the Fall River Fire Department's October 2025 after action report, the anniversary from the city's media advisory of July 7, 2026, the sprinkler demonstration from the city's own news post, and the phone number from the police department's website. We read them on Nov. 7 and checked each date and weekday against a calendar. Not heard yet: Fall River police, whom we are asking for the department's own statement, what else was taken and whether the building had been secured; any answer goes into the story.
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 Reporter, "Fall River Police investigating after break-in, theft, at Gabriel House"Acting Chief J.T. Hoar's account: the 10:30 a.m. Friday call to 261 Oliver Street, the person maintaining the property, the items missing including three televisions, the Nov. 3 to Nov. 6 window, no one inside, no suspect, under investigation. Posted Nov. 7, 2026, 9:59 a.m. Read Nov. 7, 2026.
- NBC 10 WJAR, "Breaking and entering at former Gabriel House in Fall River"The same police account, attributed to Fall River police: the time and address, the three televisions, the Nov. 3 to Nov. 6 window, no one inside, no suspect, under investigation. Posted Nov. 7, 2026, 2:49 p.m. Read Nov. 7, 2026.
- Fall River Fire Department, "Gabriel House Fire After Action Report" (PDF, 27 pages)The July 13, 2025 fire, the 9:38 p.m. alarm, 10 lives lost, 53 residents rescued (27 by ladder, 26 by hallways and stairs), the 1963 building converted from a hotel in 1999, the undetermined cause and the two possible sources, the medical oxygen finding and the code review. Dated October 2025. Read Nov. 7, 2026.
- City of Fall River, "Gabriel House Anniversary" (media advisory)The Monday, July 13 remembrance in front of Gabriel House with Mayor Paul E. Coogan, to honor the ten lives lost. Dated July 7, 2026. Read Nov. 7, 2026.
- City of Fall River, "NFSA Gabriel House Fire Demonstration 2026"The city and fire department's live fire demonstration with the National Fire Sprinkler Association, the rebuilt room of origin and the two fire scenarios. No date shown on the page. Read Nov. 7, 2026.
- South Coast 360, "State moves to require yearly checks for recalled sprinkler heads, a change Fall River firefighters proposed after Gabriel House fire"Our Oct. 15 story, linked for background. Read Nov. 7, 2026.
- City of Fall River Police DepartmentThe number to call to report a crime, (508) 676-8511. Read Nov. 7, 2026.