A five-alarm blaze at Gabriel House, an assisted living facility, tragically resulted in the deaths of nine residents and left many injured. Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon stated the fire could have resulted in over 50 fatalities. Firefighters faced a chaotic scene with flames and heavy smoke upon arrival. They courageously worked to rescue non-ambulatory residents, demonstrating extraordinary heroism. The department, consisting of both on-duty and off-duty personnel, responded with about 50 firefighters amidst overwhelming emotions and trauma from the incidents they witnessed.
The emotions are a little too raw. The stories are a little too vivid. The fire was destined to kill 50-plus people, and the department's actions were nothing short of heroic.
Firefighters described seeing faces in windows as they arrived at the scene, with the intense situation demanding quick decisions about who to rescue.
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