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3 more Gabriel House residents sue Fall River assisted living home after deadly fire

By
Victoria D
Digital Producer, CBS Boston
Victoria D. is a digital producer for CBS Boston. Before joining CBS Boston in 2023, Victoria had already worked in journalism in both New York and Boston for more than 10 years.
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Victoria D

/ CBS Boston

Three more residents are suing Gabriel House, the assisted living home in Fall River, Massachusetts where 10 people died in a fire last month. They're also suing owner Dennis Etzkorn and Fire Systems, Inc., the company hired to inspect the sprinkler systems and fire alarms at the facility.

The state fire marshal said the cause of the fire on Sunday, July 13, was accidental and that it was started either by someone smoking or the failure of a resident's oxygen device.

According to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Bristol Superior Court, Etzkorn allegedly knew that many of the residents smoked and failed to "enforce meaningful punishment for residents" who were caught smoking, even while on oxygen.

The suit, filed by residents Patricia Murphy, Terry Young and Donna Murphey, also alleges Etzkorn allowed air conditioners that were too large for the windows, which made rescues more difficult during the fire. It also claims fire drills weren't conducted and Gabriel House didn't have an emergency plan, despite state safety regulations requiring them. Additionally, the lawsuit said the fire sprinklers didn't work, even though they were allegedly inspected by the company five days before the fire.

"Neither Dennis Etzkorn nor his attorney have seen the filing yet, and have no comment at this time," a spokesperson told WBZ-TV in an email Friday.

WBZ has reached out to Fire Systems for comment on the lawsuit, but the company has not responded yet.

Another survivor of the fire, resident Steven Oldrid, filed a lawsuit against Gabriel House last week.

The fire was the deadliest in Massachusetts in 41 years.

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