Rebuilding begins after massive West Chester fire

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (WPVI) -- Investigators still don't know what sparked Monday's massive blaze in the heart of West Chester, but they sure know how much damage it did.

It took 140 firefighters and first responders nearly two hours to get the three alarm fire under control.

Now, approximately $5 million of damage is what was left behind.

On Tuesday, Action News was allowed inside the historic office building located on North Church Street that went up in flames.

West Chester Fire Chief Mike McDonald says the fact that it was built around the turn of the 20th century helped keep the situation from becoming even worse.

"The heavy timber made it a lot easier for the firefighting effort; if it was the newer balloon type construction it would probably be on the ground," McDonald said.

A significant portion of the building was occupied by DNB First Bank and local officials say they feel confident that the rebuilding process will include DNB and every other tenant affected by this.

"That building is beautiful. It's definitely a contributing resource to our historic downtown and we really hope the rebuilding effort goes well and DNB can rejoin us as soon as possible," Stephen Shinn, West Chester Borough Council Vice President, said.

Fire officials say the only silver lining is that the fire broke out right around 9:30 p.m. and so no one was inside the massive office building at the time and no injuries have been reported.

We spoke with people who live nearby who say the only thing they can do now is look forward to the building's reconstruction.

"I think that the appropriate funds will be allocated in order to make it what it was before and maybe even better. In the meantime, people are out of business and it's kind of a drag," Stacey Beck said.

"This is as popular spot. We always take walks around here. I'm sure they will rebuild and it will come back nicer," Joe McGarvey said.

Chief McDonald also says that while the fire remains under investigation, at this point, it does not seem suspicious. So, the focus now is on cleaning up and rebuilding.