When the deadly fire broke out Sunday night at Gabriel House in Fall River, Massachusetts, the assisted living facility had 70 residents and just two staff members working, according to the mayor and an employee.

The morning after a devastating fire at an assisted living facility on Oliver Street in Fall River, officials were mourning the dead and looking to help the survivors.

Despite the efforts of scores of firefighters – nearly half of whom were off duty at the time – and “every police officer in the city,” nine Gabriel House residents died in the fire, according to offi...