FALL RIVER, MASS. (WHDH) – Fall River fire chief Jeffrey Bacon held a press conference around 1 p.m. Wednesday, providing an update on not only the mental state of the firefighters involved in Sunday night’s fatal fire at Gabriel House in Fall River, but any progress made in the investigation on the fire.
“When these stories come out, they’ll write books about them, they’ll write movies about them,” said chief Bacon.
Chief Bacon recounted some firefighters speaking about how they could not see their hands in front of their own face because of the deep, dark smoke at the facility. He said he believed that without their response, the fatality count would’ve been much higher.
“There’s no doubt in my mind, that that fire was destined to kill 50 plus people, and that the firefighters from Fall River, in conjunction with the police, and the EMS division, and the EMA division, saved all of those lives,” said Bacon. “Unfortunately, nine [were] not able to be saved.”
Chief Bacon mentioned how all firefighters involved are back at work Wednesday.
Nine people died in the fire at Gabriel House, an assisted living facility. The cause of the fire and more is still under investigation.
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