A TENTH person has died as a result of the raging fire at a nursing home – the deadliest blaze in 40 years in the state of Massachusetts.
A five-alarm blaze overwhelmed the Gabriel House assisted living center in Fall River, approximately 50 miles south of Boston, on Sunday night, triggering a frantic race to rescue the 70 residents trapped within.
More than 50 firefighters responded to the nightmare blaze, which left nine dead and at least 30 others injured, including five smoke eaters.
On Wednesday, a tenth victim, identified as 66-year-old Brenda Cropper, died from her injuries, according to NBC affiliate WCAU.
Cropper had been hospitalized in critical condition since the horrific fire on Sunday.
Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon from Fall River lauded the courageous actions of the emergency responders, noting that the death toll might have been “four to five times” higher without their intervention.
“I’m absolutely convinced that this fire was on course to claim over 50 lives, but thanks to the firefighters from Fall River, alongside the police department and EMS division, every one of those lives was spared,” Bacon stated during a Wednesday press conference.
“Unfortunately, nine were not able to be saved. But that number should have been four to five times that.”
‘I AM GOING TO DIE IN HERE’
Eight of the nine other victims have since been 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.
A 70-year-old woman, who has not been identified publicly, also died in the blaze, authorities said.
A woman described the traumatic phone call she received from her father, who was trapped in one of the facility’s bathrooms.
“He was on the floor talking to me, and I am crying telling him, ‘Break the window. Try to break it,’ because he is so weak, and he couldn’t break it,” the loved one, identified only as Melanie, told ABC affiliate WCVB-TV.
“I am like, ‘Where are you?’ and he was like, ‘I am in the bathroom,’ and I said open your window, and he said, ‘It is open, but they are not hearing me.’ They are not hearing me, Melanie. I am going to die in here.'”
It’s unknown if her father survived the devastating blaze.
Authorities are still investigating what caused the fire – the deadliest blaze in Massachusetts since 1984, when 15 people died in a fire at a rooming house in Beverly.
Paul Coogan, the mayor of Fall River, told CBS affiliate WBZ-TV the owner of the assisted living facility is no longer cooperating with investigators.
“I want him to know that these are his residents and he might as well push them on a sidewalk and say have a nice day if he’s not going to follow up,” Coogan said.
“He’s just starting to get me a tad angry now because we needed his help on a few things, and he’s not answering his phone.”
Fire crews arrived to the site of a fire-alarm blaze at around 9:50 pm on Sunday.
When firefighters arrived they were met with thick smoke billowing out of the building and residents hanging out of windows screaming for help.
The flames were mostly confined to one wing of the building, but smoke quickly spread throughout the entire facility, officials said.
Firefighters used ladders to pull people from windows and carried others out of the building.
Gabriel House opened in 1999 and included 100 units, according to state records.
It was designed to support seniors who live independently but need assistance with daily tasks.
