Dozens were evacuated Saturday and one woman was taken to Crozer-Chester Medical Center after a fire broke out in a bedroom at Pusey Estates Senior Living in Upland.
“There was a fire in a second floor apartment,” said Upland Fire Chief Dan Smith. “The fire chief’s office has not yet cleared the fire.”
A woman in her late 40s was taken to Crozer-Chester for examination. No firefighters or paramedics were injured.
On Saturday afternoon, Smith added: “I am now on my way to the hospital with the detectives.”
The incident was initially reported over police radio at around 10:46 a.m. as a case of entrapment in a second-floor apartment at 301 Glenway Ave. However, when emergency responders arrived on scene, they were able to determine that there was no entrapment.
As a result of the fire, between 70 and 80 residents had to leave the facility.
“Everyone did a great job helping residents evacuate the building,” said Jeff Hill, chief of the Upland Fire Company.
According to the Delaware County Fire Department’s radio report, the fire was extinguished at 10:55 a.m. and the incident was declared under control ten minutes later. It was unclear what was burning.
In addition to the Upland Fire Company, fire departments from Parkside, Brookhaven, Chester Township, Lower Chichester, Rocky Run, Aston, Glenolden and Milmont responded to the incident, along with the Chester Fire Department and Upland Police.
At the time of the fire, the Paoli Fire Department was in charge of the Rocky Run Fire Company and Paoli firefighters were also called to the scene.
Hill explained that the Milmont Fire Company has Fan 49, a giant fan on a trailer that they use to extract smoke from a large building.
They brought it to the scene and it helped clear smoke from the affected area in Pusey Estates.
“The remaining residents were able to get back into their apartments after Milmont delivered the fan,” Smith said.
The source of the fire was identified as a bedroom on the second floor, but the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
“The incident is currently under investigation by the Fire Marshal’s Office and the Upland Police Department,” Smith said.
In a social media post, Hill added:
“When additional crews arrived, they did an excellent job of getting the elderly residents out of the approximately 60-unit building. … Upland Fire Marshal Dan Smith was in command and Chester City Battalion Chief Kraft was in charge of operations. Over 50 firefighters initially responded to the scene and all were back on the job approximately two hours later.”
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