A nearby neighbor to the Barclay Friends Senior Living Community in West Chester, Pa. was concerned when he heard continuous sirens the night that ended up being the longest night for the residents.
On Friday, Nov. 17, at 1 a.m. in the morning, first responders answered a call about a fire at the senior living community.
“I don’t know why a building designed to house so many vulnerable people would be that flammable,” Daniel Guerin said.
According to The Inquirer, there were 137 residents and 15 staff members who had to find safety the night of the two-story fire. There were 27 injured with eight who remained in the hospital until Monday for observations.
There are four unaccounted for residents from the nursing home. According to The Inquirer, the missing residents are an 85-year-old women, a 93-year-old woman and a married couple, the wife, 89 and the husband, 92.
There were 140 residents were that were displaced by the blazing fire. They were transported to different shelters via ambulances and buses, according to the West Chester Patch.
“I live about one-third of a mile from Barclay and could see the flames above tall trees. It looked like an inferno,” Guerin said.
Vance Broadnax, a registered nurse, said that the standard procedure is to save as many residents, call other staff and contact the fire department. If it is possible to put out the fire, then do it. Otherwise, get out as fast as possible.
“I’m very impressed with the facility staff and first responders who were able to rescue so many presumably frail people from the building,” Guerin said.
According to the West Chester Patch, the fire quickly became a 5-alarm inferno. There were 400 first responders that came to rescue the residents alongside the staff and neighbors. Over the weekend, the site remained too dangerous to go inside of.
“When I drove in to work on Friday morning, I could only see that the local roads closest to the facility were blocked by fire police, to prevent people from driving too close to the site,” Chris Guerin said.
The source of the fire is still unknown. The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco are investigating the cause of the fire.
“This fire is such a shame. From what I’ve heard, this nursing home was very well run and that is a rare thing in the industry. I hope they can rebuild it quickly and get friends back together,” Daniel Guerin said.
