Assisted living centers are rare in Mass, but many families still don’t know what they offer — or what they don’t.

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.

Questions and finger-pointing have increased in the days since a fire at a Massachusetts assisted-living facility killed nine and hurt dozens.

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.

FALL RIVER — The nine residents killed in a fire here at Gabriel House, an assisted living residence, are being remembered as fonts of knowledge and symbols of longevity.