At least 27 injured, others unaccounted for after massive fire at senior living center

A massive fire engulfed the facility near Philadelphia on Thursday night.

ByABC News
November 18, 2017, 2:45 PM
Barclay Friends Senior Living Community in West Chester, Pa., is pictured in this aerial image, Nov. 17, 2017.
Barclay Friends Senior Living Community in West Chester, Pa., is pictured in this aerial image, Nov. 17, 2017.
ATF via AP

— -- More than two dozen people were injured while others remain unaccounted for after a massive fire engulfed a senior living facility west of Philadelphia on Thursday night, authorities said.

The five-alarm fire at Barclay Friends Senior Living Community in West Chester, about 35 miles from Philadelphia, began just before 11 p.m. ET Thursday, authorities said. It burned for hours before firefighters brought it under control early Friday.

A massive fire burns at the Barclay Friends Senior Living Community in West Chester, Pa., Nov. 16, 2017 in this image taken from video.
WPVI-TV via AP

Hundreds of first responders scrambled to rescue the elderly residents from the burning building, evacuating them on beds and in wheelchairs.

Approximately 27 people were hospitalized for injuries related to the blaze, West Chester Police Chief Scott Bohn said at a press conference Friday afternoon. All of them are expected to survive, Bohn added.

Fire fighters battle a blaze at the Barclay Friends Senior Living Community in West Chester, Pa., Nov. 16, 2017.
Steven M. Falk/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP
Residents are evacuated from the Barclay Friends Senior Living Community during a fire in West Chester, Pa., Nov. 16, 2017.
Steven M. Falk/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP

The police chief estimated that 160 people, including residents and staff, were evacuated from the flaming center. The blaze was contained Friday afternoon but continued to burn.

Authorities were unclear on the exact amount of people unaccounted for and whether that number includes residents or staff.

Barclay Friends Senior Living Community in West Chester, Pa., is pictured in this aerial image, Nov. 17, 2017.
ATF via AP

"As you can imagine it was a little chaotic during the evacuation. There were some folks who were evacuated to West Chester University, some folks went home with family, so we're still trying to account for everybody," Donald Robinson, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) National Center for Explosives Training and Research, said at the press conference Friday afternoon.

The investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, and the ATF was on scene Friday.

ABC News' Matthew Claiborne and Mark Osborne contributed to this report