Assisted living centers are rare in Mass, but many families still don’t know what they offer or how they differ from other elder care facilities.

For weeks at a time, assisted living residents in wheelchairs on the top level of Gabriel House couldn’t leave their floor, trapped by a broken elevator that management wasn’t in any hurry to fix. Because they couldn’t make it downstairs to the communal dining room,

All 273 assisted living facilities in Massachusetts will be required to send a letter to all residents and families detailing fire safety protocols.

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

The Fall River mayor’s office has confirmed all Gabriel House residents displaced by the tragic Sunday fire that claimed nine lives now have new living arrangements.

The family of a resident at the Gabriel House assisted living facility has retained a law firm to investigate the circumstances leading up to the deadly Sunday fire that killed nine people and left dozens injured.

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.

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.