The firefighters greeted each other with handshakes, back slaps, and inside jokes in a firehouse kitchen. But quickly, they shifted to mournful, head-shaking recollections of what each of them had experienced in the worst fire they had ever fought.

The firefighters who rushed in to a burning Massachusetts assisted living facility in Fall River and rescued dozens of elderly residents describe that tragic night as pure chaos.

A fire at the Gabriel House in Fall River killed nine residents and injured 30 others, including five firefighters. Gabriel House resident Kerry Leckey said everything in her apartment is “gone, gone, gone.” Among other things that are gone: three friends.