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First responders work at the scene of an explosion and fire at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Bristol, Pa. (Monica Herndon\/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP) <\/p>\nFirst responders work at the scene of an explosion and fire at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Bristol, Pa. (Monica Herndon\/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP) <\/p>\n
BRISTOL, Pa. \u2014 A thunderous explosion Tuesday at a nursing home just outside Philadelphia killed at least two people, collapsed part of the building, sent fire shooting out and left people trapped inside, authorities said.<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a news conference several hours after the explosion that at least two had been killed after emergency responders braved the flames, a heavy odor of gas and a second explosion to evacuate residents and employees.<\/p>\n
Fire officials said they were in \u201crescue mode\u201d five hours later, with responders still digging by hand and using search dogs, earth-moving equipment and sonar to locate potential victims.<\/p>\n
The explosion happened at Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Bristol Township, just as a utility crew had been on site looking for a gas leak.<\/p>\n
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First responders are on the scene of a fire after an explosion at a nursing home in Bristol Township, Pa., on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (WPVI-TV\/6ABC via AP) <\/p>\n
A plume of black smoke rose from the nursing home, as emergency responders, fire trucks and ambulances from across the region rushed there, joined by earthmoving equipment.<\/p>\n
Authorities did not identify those who died and did not know the total number of those injured after residents and employees were evacuated to a number of different hospitals.<\/p>\n
Shapiro asked his fellow Pennsylvanians to take a moment to pray \u201cfor 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The town\u2019s fire chief, Kevin Dippolito, said at the Tuesday evening news conference that there were five people still unaccounted for, but he cautioned that some may have left the scene with family members.<\/p>\n
Dippolito described a chaotic rescue where firefighters found people stuck in stairwells and elevator shafts, and pulled residents out of the fiery building through windows and doors. Two people were rescued from a collapsed section of building, he said.<\/p>\n
Firefighters handed off patients to waiting police officers outside, including one \u201cwho literally threw two people over his shoulders,\u201d Dippolito said. \u201cIt was nothing short of extraordinary.\u201d A second explosion erupted during the rescue, he said.<\/p>\n
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First responders work the scene of an explosion and fire at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Bristol, Pa. (Monica Herndon\/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP) <\/p>\n
Bucks County emergency management officials said they received the report of an explosion at approximately 2:17 p.m. and said a portion of the building was reported to have collapsed.<\/p>\n
Willie Tye, who lives about a block away, said he was sitting at home watching a basketball game on TV when he heard a \u201cloud kaboom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought an airplane or something came and fell on my house,\u201d Tye said.<\/p>\n
He got up to go look and saw \u201cfire everywhere\u201d and people escaping the building. \u201cJust got to keep praying for them,\u201d Tye said.<\/p>\n
Shapiro said a finding that the gas leak caused the explosion was preliminary.<\/p>\n
The local gas utility, PECO, said while its crews were responding to reports of a gas odor at the nursing home, an explosion happened. \u201cPECO crews shut off natural gas and electric service to the facility to ensure the safety of first responders and local residents,\u201d the utility said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Investigators from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission\u2019s went to the scene. Finding that the explosion was caused by a gas leak won\u2019t be confirmed until the agency can examine the scene, a utility commission spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
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 there smelled gas, but \u201cthere was no heat in the room, so we didn\u2019t take it to be anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Emergency personnel work at the scene of an explosion and fire at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Bristol, Pa. (Monica Herndon\/The Philadelphia Inquirer) <\/p>\n
The 174-bed nursing home is about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia. It is newly affiliated with Saber Healthcare Group and had been known until recently as Silver Lake Healthcare Center.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Saber called the explosion \u201cdevastating.\u201d It said facility personnel had promptly reported a gas smell to PECO before the explosion and that it was working with authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of staff, residents and the community.<\/p>\n
The latest state inspection report for the facility was in October and the Pennsylvania Department of Health found that it was not in compliance with several state regulations.<\/p>\n
The inspection report said the facility failed to provide an accurate set of floor plans and to properly maintain several stairways, including storing multiple paint buckets and a bed frame under landings.<\/p>\n
It also said the facility failed to maintain portable fire extinguishers on one of the three levels and failed to provide the required \u201csmoke barrier partitions,\u201d which are designed to contain smoke on two floors. It also said it didn\u2019t properly store oxygen cylinders on two of three floors.<\/p>\n