FALL RIVER, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) -- Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey announced a new set of safety reforms for assisted living residences on Monday.

This comes in wake of July’s deadly fire at the Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility in Fall River, which killed 10 people and injured more than 30. The greatest loss of life to fire in Massachusetts in more than four decades.

Survivors filed a civil lawsuit in the weeks that followed that tragedy, alleging there was no emergency preparedness plan in place, and no fire drills were ever conducted.

It also states that the fire alarms, sprinklers, and fire pumps weren’t working, along with oversized air conditioners blocking the windows used for emergency exits. We also know there were 70 residents living in the facility and only 2 staff members working the night of the fire.

Governor Healey immediately began a review of all 272 assisted living residences in the state, ordering them to complete a fire and life safety self-assessment survey and submit their disaster and emergency preparedness plans.

After meeting over a dozen times, the commission in charge of that review issued its final report with these recommendations:

A new statewide online database is also being created to give families clear access to compliance records, ownership information, and corrective action plans. There will also be new staffing and leadership requirements, and new assessments to make sure each resident gets what they need.

Lastly, a new task force will look into ways to make care more affordable for low and middle-income older adults.

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