The cause of the Gabriel House fire that killed 10 assisted living residents in Fall River this month is officially "undetermined" because investigators cannot yet say whether the fatal fire was started by the electrical or mechanical failure of an oxygen machine in a resident's room, or instead by the improper disposal of smoking materials in that room, the state fire marshal said Tuesday.
The July 13 fire began in a resident's room on the "left side" of the second floor of the assisted living facility and was "clearly accidental," Fire Marshal Jon Davine said at a press conference. Investigators narrowed the cause of the blaze to those two possibilities, but have not been able to nail it down further in part because the occupant of the room where the fire ignited was among the 10 who died.
He said investigators found "an oxygen concentrator and numerous smoking materials" in the room where the fire began.
"Regardless of the exact cause, there's one additional factor we need to address. Investigators believe the presence of medical oxygen played a significant role in the fire's rapid spread and the ensuing tragedy. Oxygen is a necessary component of any fire, and it was present in the area of origin and other locations at Gabriel House," Davine said.
The fire marshal added, "Home oxygen was was a known factor in about 20 fire deaths and more than three dozen injuries in Massachusetts over the past 10 years, and it was [a] suspected factor in many more. Most of these incidents involve smoking materials, which are the leading cause of fatal fires here in Massachusetts and across the nation."
Davine discussed the preliminary findings at a press conference alongside Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn and Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon. Quinn, whose office is investigating the 10 deaths that resulted from the fire, declined to comment Tuesday when asked if smoking was allowed in the room where investigators believe the fire started.
The district attorney also declined to comment on the status of the assisted living facility's fire suppression system, saying that it is one factor under review as part of an investigation that "is very active and will be ongoing for some period of time."
Earlier Tuesday, Gov. Maura Healey visited Fall River to meet with city officials and area lawmakers.
"We are here today to listen, to make sure that we understand what this community needs now and moving forward in the wake of this tragedy. We're also here to discuss what we're doing as a state to ensure that tragedies like this don't happen again," the governor said. "All of us, I know all of us here, are of the deep view that no family, no resident, no community, should ever have to suffer or live with fear that something like this could happen to them or to their loved one."
Healey also announced that she would make $1.2 million in state funding available for Fall River to hire more emergency response personnel and that she instructed her team to expedite the release of funds for a municipal public safety staffing program, a total of $5.7 million for 10 eligible municipalities.
The special state commission that has been studying assisted living facilities with an emphasis on resident health and safety, which faces an Aug. 1 deadline, will be "continuing to work over the coming weeks" to incorporate lessons learned from the fatal Fall River fire on July 13, Healey said Tuesday.
Even before Healey suggested that the Assisted Living Residence Commission would be working beyond its 1 deadline, Sen. Mark Montigny of New Bedford telegraphed his plan to seek an extension of at least 90 days when the commission meets Wednesday.
When it met last week, some commission members wanted an extension and some wanted to issue a partial report while continuing to probe safety issues.
"After hearing from advocates who serve as the direct voice of residents, there is no question that the commission must take more time to ensure such a tragedy never happens again," Montigny said, adding that he has been meeting with resident advocates over the last week. "Anything short of that will not be acceptable."
Aging & Independence Secretary Robin Lipson, who chairs the commission, said last week she wanted to take time between the meetings to "think about how we balance the need to take a little more time on some issues, like the ones that we talked about that are directly influenced by what happened in Fall River, with the desire to share some of the great work we've already done with the Legislature."
Healey on Friday afternoon announced a spate of safety-focused changes that she said her administration is requiring assisted living centers to make in response to the Gabriel House fire.