One Person Injured in Paoli House Fire

Paoli Fire Company responded to a dwelling fire Tuesday night on the 200 block of West Central Avenue in the northeastern tip of Willistown Township. The call came into the station just before midnight.

When crews arrived on the scene, assisted by and Berwyn fire companies and , they saw heavy flames spilling out of the front of the second floor and some on the side of the building.

"It turned out that it was a fire in the bedroom with occupants inside, and the homeowner was refusing to leave," Paoli Fire Chief Ira Dutter said. "He was trying to get his stuff out of the house."

The five occupants made it out without serious injury, although one person did suffer minor burns on her hands, according to Dutter. She refused to go to the hospital. Roughly 50 emergency responders were able to extinguish the blaze in about 20 minutes, but the house was rendered uninhabitable.

"The whole top floor on one side is burnt out, the roof rafters are burnt out," Dutter said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Chester County Fire Marshal and the State Police Fire Marshal.

Willistown does not have a fire station, so segments of the township are handled by neighboring fire companies, including Paoli Fire Company, Malvern Fire Company, Goshen Fire Company and Newtown Square Fire Company.