Tenth victim of Massachusetts assisted living facility fire dies Dan Medeiros, USA TODAY NETWORKJuly 17, 2025 at 11:27 PM FALL RIVER, MA – A tenth victim has died of injuries suffered in a fire that swept through an assisted living facility in Massachusetts earlier this week, trapping dozens inside ...
- - - Tenth victim of Massachusetts assisted living facility fire dies
Dan Medeiros, USA TODAY NETWORKJuly 17, 2025 at 11:27 PM
FALL RIVER, MA – A tenth victim has died of injuries suffered in a fire that swept through an assisted living facility in Massachusetts earlier this week, trapping dozens inside and injuring about 30 people, officials said July 17.
Brenda Cropper, 66, was hospitalized in critical condition after a fire erupted at the Gabriel House assisted living facility in Fall River, about 50 miles south of Boston, on July 13. She succumbed to injuries she sustained on July 16, according to the office of Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III.
The fire broke out shortly after 9:30 p.m. ET at the assisted living facility, where about 70 people were trapped, most of them elderly, disabled, and immobile. After arriving at the scene, responding firefighters saw the front of the three-story building engulfed in flames and smoke, with some residents screaming for help.
First responders were forced to kick down doors and pull people out through windows. Multiple people were declared dead at the scene, and about 30 people were transported to local hospitals with injuries, including five Fall River firefighters.
Gabriel House residents who were killed in the fire were identified as Rui Albernaz, 64; Ronald Codega, 61; Margaret Duddy, 69; Robert King, 78; Kim Mackin, 71; Richard Rochon, 78; Eleanor Willett, 86; and Joseph Wilansky, 77. The county district attorney's office has not yet publicly identified a 70-year-old woman who died in the fire.
As of the afternoon of July 17, two patients from Gabriel House were being treated at Charlton Memorial Hospital, and two other patients were still hospitalized at Saint Anne's Hospital in Fall River. Another patient was at Rhode Island Hospital's Level One Trauma Center.
Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said all hospitalized residents of Gabriel House would not be discharged from hospitals until they were set up with housing at other assisted living or similar facilities that would fulfill their needs.
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The memorial outside Gabriel House in Fall River, 261 Oliver St., grows on Wednesday, July 16, as the city mourns the nine people who died in a fire at the assisted living facility on July 13. Residents place flowers and candles outside the building which was home to about 70 residents.Cause of the fire is still under investigation
The investigation into the fire's origin and cause continues by the Massachusetts State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Section assigned to the State Fire Marshall's Office, the Fall River Fire and Police Departments, in conjunction with state troopers assigned to the county district attorney's office.
The fire does not appear suspicious, but investigators haven't narrowed down the potential factors to a single cause, according to Massachusetts Department of Fire Services spokesperson Jake Wark. The fire created heavy smoke, and air conditioning units that blocked the windows made rescues difficult, according to Bacon.
During a news conference on July 14, International Association of Fire Fighters General President Edward Kelly said inadequate staffing on the Fall River Fire Department cost people their lives, pointing to chronic understaffing of department engine companies, and that only two of 10 companies are staffed to national standards of four firefighters per company.
The speech led Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan to call for an immediate increase to the department's budget.
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During a news conference on July 16, Bacon praised the actions of local firefighters and first responders. At times crying, Bacon said he was immensely proud of the 35 Fall River firefighters who initially reported to the fire and the 50 who fought it with help from police and emergency medical services.
He described rescues by crewmen on Ladder 2 company, who searched the building and carried non-ambulatory people single-handedly through the thick black smoke to waiting emergency medical services.
"That driver of Ladder 2 repeated that action six times," Bacon said with his voice breaking. "These actions are heroic."
Staggered by the scope of the disaster, and the circumstances that made fighting the fire and making the rescues so difficult, he said: "There's no doubt in my mind that fire was destined to kill 50-plus people" – and that Fall River firefighters deserve credit for saving dozens of lives.
"When all these stories come out, they'll write books about it. They'll make movies about it," Bacon added. "It's really that incredible."
Contributing: Christopher Cann and Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River: Tenth victim dies from Massachusetts assisted living fire
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