2 survivors of Fall River assisted living facility fire file lawsuit
Yet another lawsuit has been filed against the Gabriel House assisted living facility in Fall River and its owners in the wake of a deadly fire there that killed 10 people and injured dozens.
The lawsuit filed in Bristol Superior Court late Friday by two former residents, Michael J. Pimentel and James Dixon, is at least the fifth suit filed since the July 13 fire . Only one of those five has claimed wrongful death , the rest claim negligence on the part of the defendants — in this case, Gabriel House; its owner, Dennis Etzkorn and his wife, Karen; and Fire Systems Inc.
Pimentel, 73, is a double amputee who uses a motorized wheelchair to get around. He lived at the facility for eight years before the fire. Dixon, 58, has multiple sclerosis and lived at the facility for two months.
"At all times relevant hereto, the Gabriel House facility was not properly managed, staffed, maintained or supervised; residency rules were not enforced, particularly as to smoking on the premises, staff was inadequately trained, and emergency response procedures were non-existent or inadequate," the lawsuit reads.
When the fire broke out, Pimentel was trapped in his second-story room. Firefighters couldn't pull him out of the window because of an air-conditioning unit, and eventually rescued him through his bathroom window. During the rescue, his prosthetic leg came off.
Dixon had to be carried out of the building by a firefighter because he couldn't "navigate the hall or stairs himself." Both men who filed the suit were taken to a hospital by ambulance from the facility.
The lawsuit claims the fire suppression systems, and particularly the sprinklers, in the building did not work on July 13.
The 18-count lawsuit seeks a jury trial on all counts and "interest and costs of suit."
Officials have said the deadly blaze was caused by either the failure of an oxygen purifier or improper disposal of smoking materials . While the cause is undetermined, it is undisputed that the oxygen in the building contributed to the scale of the tragedy.
"There's truly no safe way to smoke, but smoking is especially dangerous when home oxygen is in use," State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine said at a press conference last week. "No one should smoke around medical oxygen."
Fire officials have not disclosed the exact unit where the fire broke out, but said it erupted in a second-story room in the east wing of the U-shaped building. The resident whose room the fire broke out in was among the 10 killed.
Deadly Gabriel House fire
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