An elderly resident who perished in a fire at a Massachusetts senior care facility had expressed an unsettling forewarning just days prior to his death, which claimed the lives of eight others.

The unnamed individual mentioned to maintenance worker Nelson Gonzalez on Friday that ‘tomorrow’s not guaranteed,’ before his life was ended in the blaze on Sunday night.

Authorities reported that the fire at Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility in Fall River, near Providence, Rhode Island, resulted in nine fatalities and 30 injuries. Among the injured, one person is said to be in ‘very critical condition.’

First responders were still combing the building for bodies by daylight on Monday as relatives gathered at the scene desperate for news about their missing loved ones. 

Maintenance worker Gonzalez told The Boston Globe that he was friends with many of the relatives and he was with them as they enjoyed a picnic on Friday. 

‘I did make friends with a lot of the residents here, and unfortunately a few of them passed away,’ said Gonzalez, 65, of New Bedford. 

As he left work on Friday, he told the residents: ‘I’ll see you guys Monday’, and one of them replied: ‘Well, not sure because tomorrow’s not guaranteed.’

‘That was one of them that passed away,’ Gonzalez said. ‘I told him, “I’ll see you Monday.” He says, “Well, no God willing because tomorrow’s not guaranteed.” And he passes away.’

The victims have not yet been named, and the cause of fire is under investigation by Fall River Police and Massachusetts State Police.

State Fire Marshal Jon Davine’s office told the Boston Globe that around 70 people were sleeping at Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility when the fire broke out. 

Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said that more than 30 people were taken to the hospital and nine people have died. One person remains in a critical condition. 

Five firefighters were also treated at hospital and each has since been released, Bacon said. Around 50 firefighters rushed to the blaze, which triggered five alarms. 

‘Our heart goes out to all of the families of the people that were injured here, and the people that lost their lives here,’ he told a press conference just after midnight. 

‘Fall River stands with them and sends out our thoughts and prayers.’ Bacon grew visibly emotional and choked up as he announced the death toll at the facility. 

Fall River, which is home to around 94,000 people, is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, on the Massachusetts side of the border.

Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility on Oliver Street has a total of 100 units on the site, which was built in 1999, according to a state website listing care homes. 

The cause of the inferno has not been disclosed. Fire officials did not say whether the sprinkler system in the building was working, but one resident said she was blasted by jets of hot water amid the chaos. 

Lorraine Ferrara said she awoke to a neighbor pounding on her door. She tried to make her way through the smoke in the hallway but turned back.

The sprinkler system was shooting hot water on her back, so she retreated into her room. 

‘It was filled with smoke,’ she said. ‘I opened the window as far as I could, yelling ‘Help! Help! Second floor!’

A firefighter broke the window and carried her down the ladder, she said.

‘I really thought I was going to die,’ she said. ‘I thought there was no way out.’

Relatives have said they received frantic phone calls from elderly residents of the care home, which is just outside of Providence, Rhode Island, on the Massachusetts side of the border. 

One woman named only as Melanie recalled the heartbreaking moment her father told her he feared he would die as firefighters struggled to find him.  

‘He was on the floor talking to me, and I am crying telling him, ‘Break the window. Try to break it,” she told Boston-based channel WCVB.

‘Because he is so weak, and he couldn’t break it, and I am like, ‘Where are you?’ and he was like. ‘I am in the bathroom’. 

‘I said open your bathroom 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 unclear whether the man made it out alive. 

The Fall River Police Department said their patrol officers were the first on the scene. They were greeted by a wall of thick black smoke, and broke down doors to begin rescuing residents. 

‘Approximately a dozen non-ambulatory residents were physically carried out by our officers,’ the department said in a statement. 

‘Their bravery and quick action undoubtedly saved many lives.’

Leo Johnson, 45, of Fall River, told The Boston Globe he rushed over to find his 68-year-old mother, who lives on the top floor of Gabriel House.

‘I was kinda freaking out because she wasn’t one of the ones outside,’ he said. 

Johnson eventually found her, saying she was outside soaking wet because the sprinklers were going off.

Joe Alves, who lives several houses down from the facility, said he was watching TV when he heard the wave of sirens and fire crews responding to the fire.

He said he saw officials pulling bodies and injured pets out of the building, with some pouring water bottles on burns as they desperately tried to help those in need.

‘There were people in wheelchairs, a lot of people missing limbs, it was terrible,’ he said, choking up slightly.

Local Fire Chaplain Michael Racine said the fire was the most harrowing loss of life he had ever experienced. 

‘In all my years of being a Fire Chaplain tonight was the worst night of experiencing such loss of life, multiple fatalities in Fall River,’ he wrote on social media. 

‘We pray for those who were injured and those who passed tonight and their families who grieve their loss,’ Racine added. 

A family reunification center has been opened at St. Anne’s Hospital on Middle Street for people who have relatives in the care home. 

Families can also call 508-674-5741 for assistance.