By Grace Zokovitch
Boston Herald
FALL RIVER, Mass. — Officials announced Tuesday a preliminary investigation shows an oxygen tank malfunction or smoking may have caused the deadly Fall River assisted living facility fire that claimed the lives of 10 last week.
“The available evidence left to them was two possible causes,” said State Fire Marshal Jon Davine. “One was an electrical or mount a mechanical failure involving the oxygen concentrator. The other was improper use or disposal of smoking materials.”
| WATCH: Body camera video: Firefighters, police rescue dozens in Mass. assisted living fire
Ten residents of the Fall River facility died of injuries caused by the fire on the night of Sunday, July 13, which was the deadliest fire in Massachusetts in over 40 years. Over 30 residents were injured in the blaze. Seventy occupants were housed in the three-story facility.
State and local officials said Tuesday the investigation into the fire will remain ongoing, but the preliminary evidence shows the cause of the fire was accidental.
Investigators traced the origin of the Gabriel House fire to a resident’s room located on the left side of the second floor, the fire marshal said.
In the room, Davine continued, was evidence of “an oxygen concentrator and numerous smoking materials,” either of which could have sparked the fire.
“Tragically, the occupant was among those who lost their lives on July 13, and we could not speak to that resident to get an account of the fire in its earliest stages,” Davine said.
The fire is classified as “undetermined with two possible ignition sources” at this time, Davine said. The fire marshal said investigators “may not be able to define between the two” and determine a single cause.
Davine noted an additional factor critical to the fire’s impact.
“Investigators believe the presence of medical oxygen played a significant role in the fire’s rapid spread and the ensuing tragedy,” said Davine. “Oxygen is a necessary component of any fire, and it was present in the area of origin and other locations. At Gabriel house, in an oxygen-rich environment, the fire will ignite more readily and spread more rapidly and burn at higher temperatures.”
In Massachusetts, home oxygen was a known factor is about 20 deaths and over three dozen injuries from fires in the last decade, Davine said, and a suspected factor in many more. Most of those incidents also involved smoking materials — the leading cause of fatal fires here in Massachusetts and the U.S.
“And tragically, just like at Gabriel house, the victims were mainly older adults at increased risk due to health or mobility issues,” said Davine. “Please, there’s truly no safe way to smoke, but smoking is especially dangerous when home oxygen is in use. No one should smoke around medical oxygen.”
Bristol County DA Thomas Quinn said Tuesday they would not comment on whether smoking was permitted at Gabriel House.
The announcement come one day after the owners of Gabriel House released their first statement since the fire, expressing condolences and noting the building’s fire suppression system was inspected just days before the incident.
Quinn said “sprinklers are part of the ongoing investigation” Tuesday.
Gov. Maura Healey also spoke Tuesday in Fall River, announcing steps to prevent future tragedies like the Gabriel House fire.
“I want to start with firefighting resources,” said Healey. “I think the last week showed us how dependent we are on firefighters and first responders to keep us safe, particularly when it comes to the most vulnerable among us.”
Healey said $1.2 million of state funding will go to Fall River to to hire more emergency response personnel. The state will also expedite the release of $5.7 million from the municipal public safety staffing program, the governor said, for police and fire in Fall River, Brockton, Framingham, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Newton and Somerville.
The governor also launched a Fire and Life Safety Initiative on Monday. Under the initiative, the state’s 273 assisted living facilities must submit letters to residents and their families “outlining fire safety protocols, evacuation procedures and key points of contact for questions or concerns” within five business days.
The facilities must also send the state detailed information demonstrating compliance with fire safety requirements, including sprinkler systems, evacuation protocols, emergency preparedness plans and more, Healey said.
State officials will continue to examine additional regulations to protect residents in the facilities as part of the Assisted Living Residences Commission established in the last year, the governor said.
“Nothing will undo what happened to Gabriel House,” said Davine on Tuesday. “But we can do everything in our power to understand it and prevent it from ever happening again.”
©2025 MediaNews Group, Inc.
Visit at bostonherald.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
