Fire at Boston-area senior living facility kills at least nine

At least nine people died and more than 30 others were injured when a fire broke out at a Boston-area assisted-living center on Sunday night, authorities said.

About 70 people lived at the Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility in Fall River, Massachusetts, where the fire broke out about 9:30 pm on Sunday (0130 GMT Monday), Jake Wark, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Fire Security, said on Monday.

Wark said that about 50 firefighters responded to the incident in Fall River, about 60 miles south of Boston.

The city opened up a temporary shelter for surviving residents.

Firefighters rescued numerous occupants of the facility, which is designed for older people to live independently with staff assistance, he said. Several residents were declared dead at the scene, while many others were transported to hospitals, and one person was in critical condition.

Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon told the media on Monday that some people were hanging from windows when firefighters arrived, the Boston Globe reported.

“This is an unfathomable tragedy for the families involved and the Fall River community,” Bacon said, telling reporters that the fire was under investigation.

Five firefighters sustained injuries that were not life-threatening, Wark said.