Closed after a fire, Upper Darby daycare aims to return ‘better than ever’

While an Upper Darby daycare now sits empty after a January fire, staff at the tight-knit school say they are discouraged but not defeated.

“Every time I come in here, my heart breaks,” Danita Johnson, who is missions manager at Darlene’s Wee Care 4 Kids, recently told 6ABC while touring the facility. “We put on a smile for everybody, but it’s not easy.”

On Jan. 8, a fire broke out on the floor above the daycare, and the facility was forced to suspend operations due to sustaining significant water damage. While 90 students and the daycare’s staff were able to relocate to another local daycare, 30 to 40 children had to either stay with family or find a new daycare, Johnson said.

The transition has taken a toll, but the daycare staff is getting through it, said teacher Breonna Rodriguez, who once attended the daycare as an infant.

Johnson — whose mother founded Darlene’s in 1990 — said the daycare plans to reopen “better than ever” in 30 to 60 days in the same location.