Tragedy struck Pennsylvania as a massive explosion claimed at least two lives at a nursing home, unleashing plumes of black smoke that darkened the skies above the facility, according to videos circulating on social media.
The ominous blast shattered the calm of Tuesday afternoon around 2:17 p.m., targeting the Bristol Health & Rehab Center located in Bristol Township, a short drive from Philadelphia.
Governor Josh Shapiro, addressing the media at a press conference, confirmed the fatalities and noted that several individuals remained unaccounted for as first responders tirelessly searched the wreckage.
“This is an incredibly tragic event for our community,” Shapiro conveyed to reporters, hours after the catastrophe. “Investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of this explosion… Preliminary findings suggest a gas leak might be responsible.”
The conclusion of a potential gas leak stems from first responders and emergency officials on the scene, who reported a pervasive smell of gas.
To delve deeper into the gas leak hypothesis, investigators from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission have been dispatched to the site to conduct a thorough investigation, Shapiro mentioned.
However, that will not be confirmed until the agency can examine the scene up close, Nils Hagen-Frederiksen, the press secretary at the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, told the Associated Press.
The explosion was labeled a mass casualty incident by Upper Makefield Township. Twenty-one people were injured, according to WPVI.
First responders the scene of the an explosion at a nursing home in Bristol Township on Tuesday
The explosion was labeled a mass casualty incident by Upper Makefield Township. Injuries are still unknown
Law enforcement has asked the public to avoid the area while responders attend to the scene.
‘We understand that there are people trapped inside,’ Ruth Miller, a Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency spokesperson, previously told CBS Philadelphia.
The nursing home has 174 beds, according to its website, but it remains unclear how many patients and staffers were inside the building at the time of the explosion.
State Rep. Tina Davis, whose district includes the nursing home, described the scene after the explosion.
‘I saw smoke and I saw car after car after car was a fire truck or ambulance from all over the city, from all over,’ she told the AP.
‘It’s just so sad,’ Davis told the outlet. ‘It’s that hopeful time of year.’
‘This is just something that is sad for everybody and the families and the workers that are there. I hope there’s positive results from this. We don’t know at this point.’
District buses transported people from the nursing home’s emergency scene to a reunification center at nearby Truman High School. Officials worked on setting up beds and providing water, as well as other essentials to those in need.
Silver Lake Healthcare Center is located about 25 miles north, or one hour, of Philadelphia. It had 174 beds, per its website
Pennsylvania Rep. Tina Davis described the scene after the explosion as seeing ‘car after car after car’ with fire trucks and ambulances ‘from all over the city’
This comes as a clearer picture emerges of how this explosion may have happened.
Musuline Watson, who said she is a certified nursing assistant at the nursing home, told WPVI that she smelled gas over the weekend.
It has also been revealed that the facility was not in compliance with several state regulations, according to the October state inspection report.
The inspection report did not say anything about gas leaks, but it did say the nursing home failed to maintain portable fire extinguishers on one of its three floors, according to the AP.
It also accused the facility of failing to provide ‘smoke barrier partitions’, which if installed properly can contain smoke to two floors.
Another concerning finding is that the facility did not properly store oxygen cylinders on two of the three floors. While oxygen is not flammable itself, oxygen can make gas fires burn more intensely, leading to explosions.
The facility last underwent a fire safety inspection in September 2024, according Medicare.gov. No issues were found.
However, Medicare rated the nursing home as ‘much below average’ thanks to shoddy health inspections.
