There is still much about the horrific fire that destroyed the Barclay Friends Senior Living Center in West Chester Thursday night.
We don't know the cause.
We don't yet know if there were any fatalities.
But what we do know is that when faced with the absolute worst, it somehow managed to bring out the absolute best.
As flames consumed the structure, neighbors already were converging on the site to see what they could do to help.
They brought blankets. They brought hot coffee. They brought soothing words to their elderly neighbors, many of them still in their beds and wheelchairs, who had been evacated from their homes and now were huddling outside in chilly 40-degree temperatures.
The neighbors joined the more than 400 first responders who battled the blaze.
The help continued Friday. West Chester University opened its gym as a temporary shelter for those displaced by the fire. A row of wheelchairs was neatly lined up outside the facility.
Then Sunday, the outpouring of support in the community continued. Hundreds of residents descended on Good Will Fire Co. to donate needed items such as toiletries, clothes, blankets, even canes and walkers.
Today we may learn more about preliminary findings, as well as whether any residents remain unaccounted for.
What we know now is that, once again, when the very worst strikes, this region is capable of uniting and showing its very best.
I wrote about it in my weekly Letter From the Editor.
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