Chester County fire left 40 people without homes. ‘They have nothing to go back to,’ official says.
The fire, which occurred late Wednesday night, devastated seven buildings in the Chester County town. Six had to be demolished and one is uninhabitable.
About 40 people have lost their homes in the aftermath of the devastating fire that tore through their residences in Oxford, Chester County, and destroyed several buildings.
“They have nothing to come back to,” said Sgt. Christopher Coverly, spokesperson for the borough’s police department. “They left with the clothes they were wearing and there is rubble now, literally.”
The fire, which broke out late Wednesday night, had forced a total of 90 people to evacuate, he said.
About 50 have since returned to their homes or are staying with friends and family, he said, but the others are being housed at a hotel in Kennett Square, about 18 miles away.
As a result of the fire, six buildings had to be demolished, and one has been declared uninhabitable.
The fire also knocked out power to seven businesses, and Coverly said Peco crews had been working to restore electricity.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
A firefighter suffered a minor burn while responding to the blaze and was treated at Crozer-Chester Medical Center and released.
Three Oxford organizations — Oxford Main Street Incorporated, Neighborhood Services Center, and the Oxford Chamber of Commerce — are coordinating support for the people displaced by the fire.
Officer Scott Richards, one of the officers who helped evacuated residents, said it was the biggest fire he had seen in his 17 years on the force in the town of about 6,000.
“It helps being that small town police department, where we know what the dynamic is,” Richards said, of the late-night rescue mission.
In recent years, Oxford, in the southern end of the county, has undergone a growth spurt, with its population growing roughly 15% since 2010, according U.S. Census figures.