Home Industries Health Services Report: Gabriel House owner ‘working with investigators’ after another tenant files lawsuit

Report: Gabriel House owner ‘working with investigators’ after another tenant files lawsuit

By

PBN Staff

-

08/06/2025

Massachusetts Fatal Fire — DENNIS ETZKORN, the owner of the assisted-living facility in Fall River that suffered a fatal fire in June said in a statement “is working with investigators” after another effected tenant filed a lawsuit, WLNE-TV ABC 6 reported Wednesday. / ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO/KIMBERLEE KRUESI

FALL RIVER – The owner of the assisted-living facility that suffered a fatal fire in June said Wednesday that he “is working with investigators” after another affected tenant filed a lawsuit, WLNE-TV ABC 6 reported. Former Gabriel House tenant Alvaro Vieira on Tuesday filed a civil lawsuit seeking $50,000 for bodily injury and property damage.

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FALL RIVER – The owner of the assisted-living facility that suffered a fatal fire in June said Wednesday that he “is working with investigators” after another affected tenant filed a lawsuit, WLNE-TV ABC 6 reported. Former Gabriel House tenant Alvaro Vieira on Tuesday filed a civil lawsuit seeking $50,000 for bodily injury and property damage. Fire Systems Inc., the facility’s provider of fire alarms and life safety systems, and Dennis Etzkorn, owner of Gabriel House, were both named in the lawsuit. Vieira is accusing management of negligence, breaking their contract and inflicting emotional distress, WLNE reported. The lawsuit claims widespread issues of the living facility were exposed during the investigation of the fire, including problems with building equipment, emergency evacuation plans and fire suppression. It also states the property had had air conditioners in the windows that were too large, preventing evacuations. Etzkorn responded in a statement that he is working with investigators to determine “exactly what happened the night of June 13 when a fire broke out inside the facility and claimed the lives of 10 residents. “Since that night, I have worked closely with all the investigators to determine exactly what happened, and why a fire that should have been contained to one room spread beyond that point of origin, in light of all our inspections,” the statement read. “The families of those lost, the survivors, and the city of Fall River deserve those answers. "I have provided investigators with all records related to the building’s safety, including documentation of regular inspections of the sprinkler system by the vendor. The most recent inspection was done on July 8, five days before the fire, and the system was reported to be in working order,” Etzkorn said in his statement. In another lawsuit filed in Bristol County Superior Court on Aug. 1, Patricia Martin, Terry Young and Donna Murphy claim that Etzkorn knew residents smoked in their rooms despite the presence of medical oxygen and that the alarm company improperly installed and failed to maintain the facility’s fire panel, fire pump and sprinkler system. Investigators said on July 22 that the fire started unintentionally by either someone smoking or an electrical issue with an oxygen machine. The blaze left some residents of the three-story building hanging out of windows and screaming for help. Other allegations of negligence are outlined in the Aug. 1 lawsuit, including the facility not enforcing any meaningful no-smoking policy, as well as code violations, broken equipment and a lack of staffing. The lawsuit alleges that the facility wasn’t safe for evacuation and lacked an Emergency Preparedness Plan, which is required by state law, according to the report. “Gabriel House turned into a death trap,” the residents’ attorneys, John Morgan and Luke Mitcheson of Morgan & Morgan, said in a statement to WPRI-TV CBS 12. “Our lawsuit alleges the owner and the fire safety company he contracted with knew it, and yet they failed to act in time to save the facility’s vulnerable residents from death and permanent injuries.” The residents are seeking damages for “physical injuries, emotional and mental anguish and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, economic losses, medical expenses and property damage,” according to their attorneys. Another resident of Gabriel House, Steven Oldrid, filed a lawsuit on July 21 alleging the facility was not properly managed, staffed or maintained, that residency rules were not enforced and that “emergency response procedures were not put in place.” The Associated Press reported on July 29 that Gabriel House temporarily lost its certification nearly a decade ago due to resident mistreatment, according to state regulators. The documents obtained by The Associated Press show that the staff failed to treat residents with “consideration, respect, personal dignity and privacy.” Other specific details of what prompted the monthlong suspension were redacted in documents that the R.I. Executive Office of Aging & Independence provided on July 29. The facility in Fall River was barred from accepting new residents until it took corrective action. The report adds to a list of issues raised with the Gabriel House facility over the years, including the son of one of the residents saying an elevator had been out for as long as nine months at one point. State records released on July 29 include about two dozen complaints about the facility during the last decade, including several related to “abuse, neglect or financial exploitation” but details are redacted. Other complaints involved a resident getting stuck for hours in an elevator that was then out of service for months, and staff members who threatened residents and withheld medication. There also were complaints about a nurse withholding medication, “environmental safety” and a cook: “The cook is obsessive, controlling and abusive.” The most detailed complaint is from 2015 and appears to have been written or dictated by a resident. It lists more than a dozen issues, including bed bugs, cockroaches, over-medicated residents and fist fights in common areas. “It is a place where you can’t feel safe due to other patients and corrupt staff,” the complaint states. “The staff treat the people there very cruel and show no respect for them or their needs.” Before the July 13 fire, the most recent compliance review found numerous repeat violations, many related to record-keeping. After the facility submitted a corrective plan, the state renewed its certification in December 2023. (Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.)