Nearing the tail end of a turbulent year for the Fall River Fire Department that has been faced with staffing shortages, crumbling stations in need of repair, and one of the deadliest blazes in 150 years on July 13 at the Gabriel House assisted living facility, the luck seems to be shifting.
At the Nov. 12 City Council meeting, a $100,000 Charlton Trust grant administered by nonprofit United Way of Greater Fall River, 30 Bedford St., to the fire department for “miscellaneous equipment” to “enhance firefighter safety” and “improve emergency preparedness” was unanimously approved by eight councilors in attendance.
The funding is a gift from Stacey Charlton on behalf of the Charlton Trust, who — about a week after the Gabriel House tragedy, Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon received a call. “She was moved by the story of the Gabriel House, and some of the video she had seen,” Bacon said. “And she wanted to help,” he said, recalling how quickly he identified a departmental need that would have helped provide better service on the scene — what Bacon called a special “operation support vehicle.”
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