The Massachusetts assisted-living facility where a fatal fire killed nine people was caring for dozens of aging residents reliant on wheelchairs and oxygen tanks, but it lacked the safety measures and most of the staffing requirements that are commonplace in nursing homes.

There’s no doubt in my mind that that fire was destined to kill 50-plus people,” Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said Wednesday.

FALL RIVER — The nine residents killed in a fire here at Gabriel House, an assisted living residence, are being remembered as fonts of knowledge and symbols of longevity.

By COREY WILLIAMS Gabriel House had seen better days. The 100-unit assisted-living facility that burned Sunday night, killing nine people so far, opened in 1999 in Fall River, Massachusetts. Some

Violations were previously found at a Massachusetts assisted living facility where nine people died in a fire. Now, the mayor claims the owner of the facility is no longer cooperating with his office.

River fire chief gave a harrowing recount of the night nine people were killed in a fire at the Gabriel House.

Questions and finger-pointing have increased in the days since a fire at a Massachusetts assisted-living facility killed nine and hurt dozens.

The investigation into the fire’s cause is ongoing but “does not appear to be suspicious,” according to the Bristol County district attorney's office.