FALL RIVER — City officials pledged Wednesday to hire more firefighters amid criticism that inadequate staffing compromised the response to the deadly fire at an assisted living facility on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the fire chief described the blaze that killed nine residents of the facility, called Gabriel House, as “accidental.”
At the time of the fire, two of the 10 fire trucks in Fall River were staffed with a minimum of four firefighters. But Mayor Paul Coogan said city officials discussed staffing with the firefighters union and determined an additional four trucks would now have a minimum of four firefighters.
“So instead of having two trucks at the minimum standard by the fire safety commission, we’re going to go to six,” Coogan said at a news conference.
Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said the new positions would be filled immediately with overtime shifts, and the department will hire 15 to 20 additional firefighters over the next two years. Bacon said the city will now have 38 firefighters working each shift, an increase from 35.
On Tuesday, Bacon responded to the union’s assertion that higher firefighting staffing levels would have saved more lives by calling that “speculation.”
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On Wednesday, Coogan was asked if the increase will make the city safer. “It most certainly will,” he responded.
Edward Kelly, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, has been advocating for the higher staffing and welcomed the announcement.
“Maintaining minimum staffing levels is critically important to public safety and firefighter safety, and I want to commend Mayor Coogan for stepping up and moving us in the right direction, making sure that we’re bringing up those staffing levels significantly in this city,” Kelly said at the news conference.
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Kelly said the union wants all 10 firetrucks staffed with four firefighters, but this “is a great move in the right direction.”
As investigators worked to determine what caused the fire, recordings of radio transmissions provided a harrowing account of the conditions firefighters faced during a desperate rescue operation.
A dispatcher gave the first indication of the severity of the blaze.
“Complainant screaming that there is fire, and alarms sounding. Unable to figure out exactly what was going on,” the dispatcher said.
The first firefighters arrived a little after 9:30 and immediately called for additional help.
“I need bodies and ladders!” one yelled into his radio. “Get in front of the building!”
Some firefighters rushed into the building, while others used ladders to reach people through windows or to beat back flames with their hoses.
“I’ve got a victim, east side, severely burned,” a firefighter yelled. “I need help!”
One person was found on the third floor, another on the second. It wasn’t clear from the recordings what condition they were in.
“Get all the medical rescues you can,” a firefighter told dispatch before 10 p.m. A triage center was opened in a parking lot nearby.
There were 69 residents in the facility at the time of the fire, according to a spokesperson for the state fire marshal; nine residents died, more than 30 were transported to area hospitals, and the others were rescued or escaped on their own without significant injuries. Officials said at least two remain hospitalized.
On Wednesday, Bacon fought back tears as he described what firefighters and other emergency responders have dealt with since Sunday and said crews made live-saving efforts that were “nothing short of heroic.”
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“There’s no doubt in my mind that fire was destined to kill 50-plus people,” Bacon said at a news conference. “Unfortunately, nine lives were not able to be saved. But that number should have been four to five times that.”
Authorities have not identified the cause of the fire, the deadliest in Massachusetts in more than four decades, but have said they do not believe it was suspicious. On Wednesday, Bacon said the fire originated in a room on the second floor of the east side of the building.
“There’s nothing intentional about this fire,” he said.
The Bristol district attorney’s office, meanwhile, identified an eighth victim as Joseph Wilansky, 77. The name of the ninth victim, a 70-year-old woman, has not been released pending notification of her family.
Bacon said a temporary shelter for the residents was closed as of Tuesday and they were “placed in other living arrangements, whether with family or other facilities.”
Bacon said that he considered having some of his firefighters join him at the press conference on Wednesday, but that they need more time.
“The emotions are a little too raw, the stories are a little too vivid,” he said. “It’s more incredible than what I initially thought it was going to be.”
He said Engine 5 was first to arrive and the captain found the scene “eerily quiet.”
Usually, it takes at least two firefighters to operate a single hose. But with only a three-person crew and flames “blowing out the front door,” the captain told firefighters to use two hoses.
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“He recognized the danger in that building and the risks that were posed [to] the residents, and he ordered his crew to advance two hose lines with three of them,” Bacon said of the captain, whom he did not identify by name. “He knocked down the fire very quickly, to the point that countless lives were saved.”
As more trucks pulled up to the “chaotic scene,” firefighters described seeing people inside, Bacon said.
“They described seeing faces in windows and having to decide who they need to rescue,” Bacon said, his voice cracking with emotion.
Gabriel House owner Dennis Etzkorn was seen clearing out the facility on Tuesday, removing computer monitors and boxes. He returned on Wednesday but declined to speak with reporters.
Coogan said Wednesday that Etzkorn has been in contact with investigators and city officials and has promised to provide documents and reports as requested.
“I believe he’s going to have to give us, or investigators, all of his documentation of what he’s done in that building, for renovations, inspections, whatever you use, quarterly reports,” Coogan said. “I think he’s got to make sure he was doing all he needed to do to keep his residents safe and in a nice secure setting.”
Coogan said Etzkorn will have to refund the city for transportation, shelter, and feeding of residents since the fire.
On Wednesday morning, Robert and Alda Albernaz returned to Gabriel House to look up to the window of the third-floor room where their brother, 64-year-old Rui Albernaz, lived before perishing in the fire.
The pair placed two bouquets of blue, purple, and pink flowers against a fence. Alda quietly sobbed.
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“Hey there buddy,” she said looking up at his window.
The siblings stood silently under the window for minutes.
“That was his favorite word,” Robert said.
“He called everybody ‘buddy,’ ” Alda added. “If he would meet you, he would say, ‘Hi bud.’ ‘Hi buddy.’ ”
Robert and Alda were hoping to get their brother’s belongings, including important documents, from his room. She also hoped to retrieve small statues of religious figures she had given him.
“He was a good-hearted soul,” Alda Albernaz said.
John R. Ellement and Randy Vazquez of the Globe staff and correspondent Maria Probert contributed to this report.
Nick Stoico can be reached at nick.stoico@globe.com. Ava Berger can be reached at ava.berger@globe.com. Follow her @Ava_Berger_. John Hilliard can be reached at john.hilliard@globe.com or on Signal at john_hilliard.70. Follow him on Bluesky at iamjohnhilliard.bsky.social.