Explosion at a Pennsylvania nursing home kills at least 2, governor says

BRISTOL, Pennsylvania — A thunderous explosion Tuesday at a nursing home just outside Philadelphia killed at least two people, collapsed part of the building, sparked fires and left people trapped inside, authorities said.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said at a later news conference that rescuers braved flames, a strong smell of gas and a second explosion to evacuate residents and employees.

Firefighters said they were in “rescue mode” five hours later, with responders still digging by hand and using search dogs, earthmovers and sonar to locate potential victims.

The explosion happened at Bristol Health & Rehabilitation center in Bristol Township, just as a utility crew was on scene looking for a gas leak.

Shapiro said the conclusion that a gas leak caused the explosion was preliminary.

A plume of smoke rose from the nursing home as rescue workers from across the region rushed there.

Authorities did not identify the dead and did not immediately know the total number of people injured.

City Fire Chief Kevin Dippolito said at Tuesday night’s news conference that five people were still missing, but he cautioned that some may have left the scene with family members.

Shapiro asked his fellow Pennsylvanians to take a moment to pray “for this community, for those who are still missing, for those who are injured, and for those families who are about to celebrate Christmas with an empty chair at their table.”

Dippolito described a chaotic rescue in which firefighters found people trapped in stairwells and elevator shafts and pulled residents of the burning building through windows and doors. Two people were rescued from a collapsed part of the building, he said.

Firefighters handed the patients over to police officers waiting outside, including one “who literally threw two people over his shoulders,” Dippolito said. “It was just extraordinary.” A second explosion occurred during the rescue, he said.

Bucks County emergency management officials said they first received a report of an explosion around 2:15 p.m.

Willie Tye, who lives about a block away, said he was sitting at home watching a basketball game on television when he heard a “big ka-boom.”

“I thought a plane or something had come and fallen on my house,” Tye said.

He got up to look and saw “fire everywhere” and people running from the building. “I just have to keep praying for them,” Tye said.

The local gas utility, PECO, said an explosion occurred as its crews responded to reports of the smell of gas at the nursing home.

“PECO crews shut off natural gas and electric service to the facility to ensure the safety of first responders and local residents. It is unknown at this time if PECO equipment, or natural gas, was involved in this incident,” the utility said in a statement.

One worker suffered non-life-threatening injuries, the utility said.

Investigators from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission responded to the scene. The finding that the explosion was caused by a gas leak won’t be confirmed until the agency examines the scene, a Public Utilities Commission spokesman said.

Musuline Watson, who said she was a certified nursing assistant at the facility, told WPVI-TV/ABC 6 that over the weekend she and others smelled gas, but “there was no heat in the room, so we didn’t take it as anything.”

The 174-bed nursing home is about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia. It is newly affiliated with Saber Healthcare Group and was known until recently as Silver Lake Healthcare Center.

In a statement, Saber called the explosion “devastating.” He said staff at the facility quickly reported the smell of gas to PECO before the explosion and was working with authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of staff, residents and the community.

The last state inspection report on the facility was in October, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health found it was not in compliance with several state regulations.

The inspection report said the property failed to provide an accurate set of floor plans and properly maintain several staircases.

He said the facility failed to maintain portable fire extinguishers on one of three levels and failed to provide required “smoke partitions,” designed to contain smoke on two floors.

According to Medicare.gov, the facility underwent a standard fire safety inspection in September 2024, during which no citations were issued. The facility’s overall Medicare rating is “much below average,” with poor ratings for health inspections in particular.

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Levy and Scolforo reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Associated Press journalists Holly Ramer in Concord, NH, Michael Casey in Boston and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed.