River fire union has claimed more lives could have been saved if more firefighters were on scene. The mayor says the department was staffed as requested by the chief.

Elderly residents – some in wheelchairs and some dependent on oxygen tanks – were blinded by deadly smoke as they tried to escape an assisted-living facility in Fall River, Massachusetts, which caught fire Sunday evening.

First responders rescued dozens of people from inside an assisted living facility where nine people were killed.

Gabriel House residents described a chaotic scene Sunday night before they were rescued from the blaze that left nine dead and dozens more injured.

A deadly fire tore through an assisted living facility in Fall River, Massachusetts, on Sunday night, July 13. The Fall River Fire Department said the fire caused multiple injuries and fatalities at the Gabriel House home on Oliver Street, ABC6 reported.

River Fire Department confirmed that there are multiple injuries and fatalities. A family reunification centre has now been set up at the chapel at the St. Anne’s Hospital.

The investigation into the fire’s cause is ongoing but “does not appear to be suspicious,” according to the Bristol County district attorney's office.