After a devastating fire at an assisted living facility on Oliver Street, Fall River residents are mourning the dead and looking to help the survivors.

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.

The Gabriel House assisted living facility did not perform fire drills or train workers in evacuation procedures and was also understaffed and poorly maintained, according to a current and former employee interviewed in the aftermath of the fatal fire there that killed nine residents.

River firefighters union says low staffing levels prevented them from rescuing more people in Massachusetts deadliest fire in 40 years.

As flames tore through a Fall River assisted living residence Sunday night, nearly 50 firefighters rushed to rescue the vulnerable population calling for help from their windows. The fire killed nine residents and injured 30 at the Gabriel House Assisted Living Residence.

Gabriel House residents described a chaotic scene Sunday night before they were rescued from the blaze that left nine dead and dozens more injured.