The city is taking a significant step closer to meeting the national standard for firefighters working at a given time.

You could have had 100 firefighters show up on that scene and it wouldn’t have been enough,” the fire chief said at a news briefing outside the fire department’s headquarters Tuesday.

When the deadly fire broke out Sunday night at Gabriel House in Fall River, Massachusetts, the assisted living facility had 70 residents and just two staff members working, according to the mayor and an employee.

River will hire up to 20 more firefighters and offer more overtime to increase the number of crew members working each shift following this week's deadly fire at an assisted living facility.

River are delivering an update on the deadly fire that killed 9 and injured 30 there Sunday night. Watch live:

River firefighters arrived at the scene Sunday to find some of the trapped residents screaming for help out of the windows.

As state and local authorities probe Sunday's deadly fire at a Fall River assisted living facility, a firefighter’s union is already claiming a shortage of firefighters may have played a role in its devastation.

First responders rescued dozens of people from inside an assisted living facility where nine people were killed.