(FALL RIVER, Mass.) — A 10th victim has died as a result of injuries sustained in a devastating fire at an assisted-living facility in Fall River, Massachusetts, according to the district attorney’s office.
Brenda Cropper, 66, was hospitalized in critical condition following Sunday night’s five-alarm blaze at the Gabriel House, and succumbed to her injuries on Wednesday, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced on Thursday.
The other residents killed have been identified as: 64-year-old Rui Albernaz, 61-year-old Ronald Codega, 69-year-old Margaret Duddy, 78-year-old Robert King, 71-year-old Kim Mackin, 78-year-old Richard Rochon, 86-year-old Eleanor Willett and 77-year-old Joseph Wilansky. The name of one victim, a 70-year-old woman, has not been released.
Dozens were hurt at the Gabriel House, which was home to about 70 people.
The fire “was destined to kill 50-plus people,” Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said at a news conference on Wednesday, praised the “heroic” first responders who he said saved dozens of lives.
Firefighters who rushed to the scene have described seeing faces in windows and “having to decide who they needed to rescue,” Bacon said, overcome with emotion.
One responder pushed through the heavy, black smoke inside the building to break into rooms and pull out nonambulatory residents, he said.
A captain at the scene found it “eerily quiet” when he responded to the front door, where flames were blowing out, the chief said.
“He knocked down the fire very quickly, to the point that countless lives were saved,” Bacon said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. The district attorney’s office said it “does not appear to be suspicious.”
Bacon noted the fire started in a room on the second floor.
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