Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
ATF: No indication of foul play
Identities of four people who died in the fire have not yet been released
WEST CHESTER » Investigators have all but ruled out any thought of individual criminal activity being involved in the devastating fire at the Barclay Friends Senior Living Community, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said Monday.
“There is no evidence now of any foul play,” said ATF Public Information Officer Charlene Hennessey in a telephone interview. She noted, however, that the investigation continues into the inferno that swept through the 20-year-old senior facility on North Franklin Street on the north side of West Chester Borough earlier this month. Interviews are still being conducted and laboratory analysis completed ahead of a planned press conference slated for Thursday in Philadelphia.
Until now, officials had not discussed whether the fire was started accidentally or intention-
ally. Hennessey’s statement appears to confirm the former.
The blaze claimed the lives of four people who lived at the home, a husband and wife and two unrelated women, according to earlier reports. The remains of their bodies were found in the south wing of the home, where the fire started. The identities of the victims have not yet been released.
Another source who is familiar with the investigation confirmed Hennessey’s statement downplaying the possibility of foul play – either through arson or intentional design to cover up a homicide, for example. The person said that nothing had been finally ruled out, however, until all investigative efforts had been concluded.
Hennessey said that the four people who died in the fire had been identified by the Chester County Coroner’s Office after post-mortems were concluded, and that the families of the deceased had been notified. Their identities have not been made public, however.
Hennessey said information on how the fire started, how it spread as quickly as it did, and whether there was any evidence that the buildings’ sprinkler system malfunctioned would not be released at this time. “That will all be released on Thursday,” she said.
The ATF investigators – who joined a crew of more than 50 officials working the scene — left the Barclay grounds Thursday or Friday, ahead of the weekend. Fire crews that had been stationed there since the blaze, which broke out late Thursday, Nov. 16, were also gone by Friday morning, al- though a lone West Chester
police investigator could be seen walking the grounds that day.
“Investigating a fire of this size is truly a team effort,” said ATF Philadelphia Field Division Special Agent in Charge Donald Robinson in a release last week confirming the deaths of four people. “We appreciate the dedication of our personnel as well as all of the state and local partners who worked tirelessly to thoroughly investigate this fire to find the remaining victims and attempt to determine the fire’s origin and cause. We hope with the recovery of the four victims these families can now start to heal and that we can provide some closure for them.”
“The thoughts and prayers of the men and women of ATF and all of our emergency responders are with the families of the victims during this
difficult time. Their losses only strengthen our resolve to provide answers to them as a result of our investigation of this tragedy” Robinson said.
The massive fire tore through the complex Nov. 16. More than two dozen people were injured and 133 residents and about 20 staff members were displaced. The residents were taken to other area senior facilities or to private homes until new living arrangements are made.
The fire occurred at approximately 10:45 p.m. at the Barclay facility in the 700 block of North Franklin Street. First responders from West Chester and surrounding fire departments in the area arrived on the scene shortly after the first call was made to 911 assisting with the evacuation of 152 residents and staff members, many of whom were
assisted by neighbors who rushed to the scene. The ATF arrived on scene Saturday morning to start processing the fire scene and determine the origin and cause once the building was secured and hot spots extinguished.
West Chester Mayor Jordan Norley addressed the tragedy last week.
“We suspected it from day one, but you don’t talk about that until you cross your T’s and dot your I’s and until you talk to the families,” Norley said of the discovery of human remains in the rubble. “Until you find it to
be true, you still take hope.”
Norley was present at the late night inferno and said that it is a “miracle” that so many were safely evacuated.
“If there is a silver lining, it is that more people could have lost their lives,” Norley said. “From a practical standpoint, you should look at what could have happened, but still the families that lost a loved one are hurt and grieving.
“Our hearts go out to them.”