The owner of Fall River’s Gabriel House issued a second statement this week, making it clear he will not be available to answer journalists’ questions and that he’s focusing on returning people’s things and working with authorities to figure out how a fire tore through his assisted living facility, killing 10 people and hurting dozens more.
The fire occurred on Sunday, July 13, inside of Gabriel House, where 70 residents lived. Since then, Gabriel House owner Dennis Etzkorn said he’s been working to help families recover their “loved ones’ possessions” and to help officials with the investigation.
“The last two weeks have been the most difficult I’ve ever known, not because of whatever I have experienced, but rather, because of the knowledge that ten families who were part of the Gabriel House community have suffered unimaginable pain and the ultimate loss,” Etzkorn wrote in a statement Friday. “I am cognizant of numerous media requests for interviews, but this is not a time to talk about myself.”
MassLive’s attempts to reach Etzkorn since the fatal fire have been unsuccessful.
Etzkorn expects personal possessions will be returned to family members by the end of next week.
The owner is also working with authorities to “determine all the facts and circumstances of this tragedy.”
“All that matters right now is getting to the bottom of why this happened and helping our residents’ loved ones in this darkest of times,” Etzkorn wrote. “Those dual tasks will remain my only priorities to the exclusion of all else.”
Etzkorn also released a statement on Monday, July 21 that said there were quarterly inspections of the building’s fire suppression system and that the latest happened five days before the fire on July 8. He said the tests found the sprinklers were in working order.
Following the days of the Gabriel House fire, Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan said the city intends to increase the number of fully staffed fire engines to the national standard of four firefighters per truck.
The department typically staffs two of its 10 fire engines to that standard, but Coogan said the agreement will increase the number to six.
The announcement came after a years-long strife between the city and the union representing its firefighters. International Association of Firefighters President Ed Kelly said July 14 that had Fall River been staffed to the national standard, more lives would have been saved.
The increased staffing means Fall River will hire 15 to 20 firefighters over the next two years, Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said at a press conference. In the short term, while those firefighters are hired and trained, the new staffing level will be covered by overtime.
With the new agreement, a minimum of 38 firefighters will work each shift, Bacon said. Gov. Maura Healey announced the state intends to provide Fall River a grant worth $1.2 million to cover the staffing levels. On July 13, that would have meant three more firefighters would have been able to respond to the scene when the fire broke out, throwing up ladders and rescuing trapped residents.
“We think this is a very positive step in the right direction,” Coogan said.
The investigation determined the fire was started in a resident’s second-floor room and was caused by either an electrical or mechanical failure of an oxygen concentrator or the improper use or disposal of smoking materials. Since investigators could not pinpoint one specific cause, it will remain undetermined, State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine said July 22.
It is clear, though, that the presence of medical oxygen inside the assisted living facility contributed to the severity of the fire, authorities said.
“There’s truly no safe way to smoke, but smoking is especially dangerous when home oxygen is in use,” Davine said. “No one should smoke around medical oxygen.”
At least one resident is suing the facility.
Steven Oldrid, 69, who uses a power chair and lived on the third floor of the building, says he suffered smoke inhalation and respiratory distress and went unconscious on the floor of his room before being rescued. His lawsuit, filed July 22 in Bristol County Superior Court, accuses Gabriel Care, Inc. of negligence. It also seeks damages to cover Oldrid’s additional expenses for hospitalization and treatment.
The state’s Assisted Living Residences Commission has also begun discussions about the importance of diving deeper into the evolving medical needs of assisted living residents, as well as the “affordable” model — versus private-pay — that some claim contributed to poor conditions at Gabriel House before the fire.
“We can’t ignore what happened in Fall River,” she said.
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