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.

Heartbreak and questions still linger in Fall River after a fire tore through an assisted living facility on Sunday, killing nine people.

A Massachusetts native, Willett spent more than 20 years as a secretary and even worked briefly as a cocktail waitress, her granddaughter said. Her home was always a base for everyone in her family, Mallowes said.

The mayor says the city is working on returning personal belongings, medication and keeping health at the forefront.

Following a deadly fire at the Gabriel House assisted living home in Fall River, a state lawmaker is pushing for hearings to examine the incident and the regulatory requirements for assisted living centers in Massachusetts.

A Massachusetts assisted-living center where nine residents died in a fire was cited for failing to immediately report more than two dozen health and safety incidents.

Mice, cockroaches and beds without sheets were a part of life at the Gabriel House in Fall River, according to a current employee, long before Sunday’s fire that killed nine residents and injured 30 at the assisted living facility.

Survivors are speaking out after a fire at a Massachusetts assisted living facility killed nine people as staff and firefighters are being criticized for how they responded to the blaze.