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According to an early morning briefing, the West Chester Fire Department was dispatched at 10:46 p.m. Thursday night to the Barclay Friends Senior Living Community for a smoke investigation. The first firefighters found heavy fire on the south side of the complex and were joined by police in making rescues and handling evacuations of the buildings.
#LATEST West Chester fire chief would not discuss fatalities or injuries from Barclay Friends Senior Living Community fire overnight. Fire is under control, but not out. Officials say next update won't come until after Noon.
— Trang Do (@TrangKDo) November 17, 2017
Mari A. Schaefer & Francisco Delgado, Philly.com:
A five-alarm fire ravaged a large nursing home complex in West Chester late Thursday night into Friday morning, forcing the evacuation of more than 200 residents into 40-degree temperatures and sending an unknown number to area hospitals.
At a 6:30 a.m. briefing, officials would not provide information about casualties, including whether anyone was dead or missing. They only reported that the fire was declared under control at 1:22 a.m. and that the cause is under investigation.
There were no reported injuries among firefighters.
The fire was reported just before 11 p.m. in the 700 block of North Franklin Street.
At a news conference shortly before 6:30 a.m. Friday, officials declined to say how many residents were injured, or if there were any fatalities.
But earlier in the morning, Chester County emergency officials said at least 20 people were taken to area hospitals for treatment.
