4 Unaccounted For After Fire At West Chester Senior Home

WEST CHESTER, PA — Four people remain unaccounted for days after a destructive fire ripped through Barclay Friends Seniors Assisted Living Center in West Chester, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said in a press conference Monday afternoon.

First responders continue to sift through the rubble in search of those victims on Monday, authorities said.

The four missing individuals are Chester County residents, and include a married couple. The wife is an 88-year-old woman and her husband is 92. Two more women, aged 85 and 93, also remain missing.

The blaze began just before 11 p.m. Thursday in the back of the complex. The fire rapidly became an inferno, as five alarms were quickly raised. More than 400 first responders joined neighbors in the area in rushing into the building to rescue the residents, many of whom were in wheelchairs and had physical and mental issues.

Hogan said the situation could have been much worse.

"Based on the speed of the fire and condition of the residents, we would have expected to lose 4o to 50 people in a fire like that," Hogan said.

First responders endured intense conditions as they tried to rescue residents, going so far in to the blaze that their helmets began to melt and crack, authorities said.

A total of 137 residents were in the building when the fire began, in addition to 15 staff members.

At least 27 of those 137 were injured and hospitalized after the incident; eight remained hospitalized Monday.

An investigation into the cause and precise origin of the fire is ongoing. The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco (ATF) is leading the investigation.

"We'll be here as long as it takes to get answers for the families," said Don Robinson, Special Agent in Charge with the ATF, who said he had an aunt in the facility.

Robinson said that crews at the scene have been hampered by the weather, especially the high winds on Sunday which restricted the use of heavy machinery used to sift through rubble.

Officials said they expected the investigation at the scene to last through the Thanksgiving holiday.

Specialists from multiple federal, state, and local agencies on working together on the investigation. Robinson noted the electrical engineers, chemists, explosives specialists, and fire marshals were all on the scene.

The blaze was confined to the assisted care portion of the facility, which was razed to the ground. Other buildings in the complex remained standing.

Of the displaced seniors who survived, 31 have gone home with their families while the rest have been housed at other assisted living facilities throughout the region.

On Saturday, volunteers collected an "overwhelming" amount of donations from the community, including underwear, toiletries, and other necessities. Authorities posted shortly thereafter on Sunday to state that donations were closed because they had more than they could use.

Officials would not field questions from reporters after the press conference on Monday afternoon.

See Patch's previous coverage of the fire:

• Massive Fire Destroys West Chester Senior Living Facility: Video
• Community Rallies After Devastating West Chester Fire

Photo credit: Pete Bannan/Daily Local News via AP; WPVI-TV via AP