According to Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon, the blaze started in a room on the second floor on the east side of the Gabriel House building, but details about the exact origin and cause are under investigation.

Assisted living centers are rare in Mass, but many families still don’t know what they offer — or what they don’t.

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

Elderly residents – some in wheelchairs and some dependent on oxygen tanks – were blinded by deadly smoke as they tried to escape an assisted-living facility in Fall River, Massachusetts, which caught fire Sunday evening.

The Massachusetts assisted-living facility that caught fire Sunday evening was slated to undergo a recertification and compliance review process later this year.

When a loved one is no longer able to safely live alone due to illness or frailty, assisted living offers a supportive environment with round-the-clock oversight and access to care, as well as comprehensive safety measures. These communities must comply with federal, state and local safety regulations.

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.

More than 75 percent of Gabriel House residents are enrolled in Medicaid, state officials have said, and it charges significantly less than a typical assisted living facility does for private-paying patients.