- What you should know
- Two people — an employee and a resident — were killed in a explosion at a Bucks County nursing home Tuesday afternoon.
- Nineteen people remained hospitalized on Wednesday, one in critical condition, officials said. All residents and staff had been accounted for as of Wednesday.
- Reports of a gas odor preceded the explosion at Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Bristol.
- Gov. Josh Shapiro said a lot of “unanswered questions” remained during a news conference Tuesday night. The cause of the blast remains under investigation.
// Timestamp 12/24/25 4:58pm
NTSB investigators arrive at scene of explosion
The National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates pipeline accidents, said it responded Wednesday morning to the scene of the explosion at the Bristol Township nursing home.
Peco crews had responded to the nursing home earlier Tuesday to reports of a gas odor just before the explosion, and firefighters reported the heavy odor of gas before a second explosion.
“The team won’t be able to fully evaluate the natural gas service line, which extends below ground from the main near the road to the interior of the building, until a safe path is cleared, which could take several days,” said agency spokesperson Peter C. Knudson.
“Once it’s safe for investigators, they will continue documenting the accident scene and conducting further examinations of the pipeline and equipment involved,” Knudson said.
The NTSB investigation will cover three primary areas: human factors, the pipeline system, and the operating environment, Knudson said.
“Witnesses to the accident or those who may have surveillance video or other information that could be relevant to the investigation are asked to contact the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov,” Knudson said.
// Timestamp 12/24/25 3:58pm
Victim remembered as immigrant who wanted to work as nurse and ‘make a difference’
The night before she died in the explosion, Muthoni Ndutu cooked spiced chicken for her husband and three adult sons to share on Christmas, her friend Rose Muema said Wednesday outside Ndutu’s one-story brick home in Bristol.
Ndutu, 52, was working a nursing shift Tuesday night when she was caught in the blast. Another woman also died.
An immigrant from Mombasa, Kenya, Ndutu earned her nursing degree from Jersey College, Muema said, and had worked at the home for more than a dozen years.
“She came here to work,” Muema said. “She came here to make a difference.”
Ndutu had three sons — Clinton, 30; Joseph, 24; and K.K., 18 — and a 4-year-old granddaughter.
Her family declined to speak Wednesday but stood beside Muema as she talked.
Muema, who also immigrated from Kenya, described her friend as bubbly, hardworking, and devoted to her family and community. She called Ndutu her sister. “That’s what we do in Kenya,” she said. “We call each other sisters, not friends.”
She said the two attended nursing school together. “We had plans,” Muema said — plans now cut short.
Ndutu was a devout Catholic and a longtime member of St. Ephrem Catholic Church in Bensalem. She was part of a close-knit Kenyan community in the area, Muema said, many of whom gathered around her family Wednesday to offer support.
// Timestamp 12/24/25 3:39pm
Drone photos show Bucks nursing home explosion from air
// Timestamp 12/24/25 2:09pm
Injured certified nursing assistant ‘doesn’t remember anything’ about explosion, mother says
Natalie, 35, was almost finished with her Tuesday shift when the facility that she’d worked at for five years suddenly imploded.
The certified nursing assistant was among those pulled from the wreckage after an explosion and fire ripped through Bristol Health and Rehab Center Tuesday afternoon, said her mother, Andrea Taylor. Taylor asked that her daughter be identified only by her first name to protect her privacy.
Natalie, who has a 6-year-old daughter, remained hospitalized Wednesday with a punctured lung and bruising throughout her body, Taylor said. She can’t recall the explosion, where she was, or how she was found, her mother said, but she is expected to make a full recovery.
“She doesn’t remember anything,” Taylor said. “Maybe that’s a good thing.”
Taylor said she was laying down for a nap when she received a harrowing text from her daughter’s boyfriend: “Natalie’s building blew up.”
The rest of the night was a blur, she said, as the family tried to get information and updates on the nursing assistant’s condition. She was on her way to visit her daughter Wednesday morning.
Taylor said she and her family are grateful to first responders and are counting their blessings entering the Christmas holiday that Natalie is alive.
“We’re lucky to have her,” she said.
// Timestamp 12/24/25 1:59pm
Peco gas technician was seriously injured by explosion, union rep says
A Peco gas technician who responded to reports of a gas leak at a Bristol nursing home on Tuesday was seriously injured in the blast and then attempted to rescue other people from the damaged building, according to the union president who represents Peco workers.
Larry Anastasi, president of IBEW Local 614, said the technician arrived at Bristol Health & Rehab Center on Tuesday afternoon to address a reported gas leak. The technician was working alone in the basement of the nursing home to assess the problem when he resurfaced to get more tools from his truck.
As he was walking back toward the nursing home, the building erupted.
“If he was in the building, he’d be dead,” Anastasi said.
The cause of the blast remains under investigation. Local 614 represents more than 1,500 electric linemen, gas technicians, and office support staff at Peco.
The technician, whose name has not been made public, was being treated at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s Burn Center. He suffered severe burns to his face and hands, as well as injuries caused by shrapnel. Anastasi said the technician was expected to be released Wednesday.
After suffering those injuries, the technician tried to help others escape from the blast area, Anastasi said.
“He was trying to go in and get more people,” his union rep said. “[First responders] had to grab him and said ’brother, you need to stop and go in the ambulance.’”
Anastasi said the near-death experience highlights the risks Peco technicians face when responding to gas leaks. They often work alone, sometimes in dangerous conditions, while dealing with leaks in enclosed spaces.
He said the situation at the nursing home also highlights why gas meters are now required to be located outside and aboveground.
A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission on Tuesday declined to answer questions about the gas meter’s location in the building’s basement. The agency, which regulates utility operators like Peco across the commonwealth, ordered utility companies in 2011 to relocate all indoor gas meters outdoors, in an effort to bring safety standards up to date.
It remains unclear why that meter relocation never occurred at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, formerly known as Silver Lake.
“My [technicians] are putting themselves in a great deal of danger,” Anastasi said. “So we’re hoping that Peco does a very thorough investigation.”
// Timestamp 12/24/25 1:03pm
Shapiro and Mayor Parker order flags half-staff in Bucks County and Philly
Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered all Pennsylvania flags on state buildings and property within Bucks County to fly at half-staff in honor of the victims of the explosion at Bristol Health & Rehab Center.
“To the Bristol community, we all stand with you — and we’ll continue to provide the support your community needs as you begin to rebuild and recover,” Shapiro said in a post to X.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker also ordered flags to be flown half-staff in Philadelphia across city buildings in solidarity.
“This solemn gesture of remembrance and support for the victims and their families will be observed until Tuesday, December 30,” the city said in a statement on X Wednesday.
// Timestamp 12/24/25 12:52pm
Nursing assistant identified as one of two nursing home explosion victims
Muthoni Nduthu, a 52-year-old woman, is one of the two people who died in the nursing home explosion, according to the Bucks County Coroner’s Office.
Nduthu was a nursing assistant at the Bristol Health and Rehab Center, the office said.
The other victim was transported to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital in Northeast Philadelphia and is not in the care of the Bucks office, Chief Deputy Coroner Scott Croop said Wednesday afternoon.
// Timestamp 12/24/25 12:27pm
Family member of nursing home resident describes waiting for news
Elizabeth Lind lives on Winder Street, her backyard divided from the nursing home by a chain-link fence.
On Tuesday afternoon, the 67-year-old was watching television when a sudden boom shook her house. The blast, she said, seemed to vibrate through her body. From her window, she saw black smoke rising from the facility where her older brother, Walter Ferris, has lived for years.
More than two hours passed, she said, before she learned he was safe. A nursing home employee brought the news Tuesday night. Until then, she said, “I just pictured him inside there. I was praying he wasn’t one of the casualties.”
Ferris has Parkinson’s disease and is in his early seventies, she said.
// Timestamp 12/24/25 12:16pm
Bucks County’s Area Agency on Aging working to assist residents
Staff members for Bucks County’s Ombudsman program, which advocates for residents in long-term care facilities and nursing homes, will be meeting individually with residents displaced by the explosion at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, county spokesperson Jim O’Malley said. O’Malley spoke on behalf of the county’s Area Agency on Aging.
It’s unclear when and what the timeline of those meetings will be, but staff members will look to assess residents’ needs, such as their missing personal belongings, O’Malley said. County staff may also be coordinating with the state on those meetings.
// Timestamp 12/24/25 12:05pm
Rep. Fitzpatrick promises ‘thorough examination’ of building collapse
In a post to X Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick expressed thanks for the first responders “who ran into danger again and again, risking their own lives to save others.”
The Republican congressman promised that the events of the building collapse would be “thoroughly examined” and that the facts would be made public.
The one thing that is clear, he said, is that emergency responders were swift to respond and saved lives.
“So tonight, as homes and churches across our region are lit for Christmas, we ask for prayers—for those grieving, for those recovering, and for the brave men and women who stood watch when it mattered most,” Fitzpatrick said.
// Timestamp 12/24/25 11:29am
‘Send everybody’: Law enforcement recalls scene of explosion
Bristol Township law enforcement officials Wednesday recalled the harrowing scene first responders encountered as they arrived at Bristol Health and Rehab Center one day earlier.
A thick smell of gas hung in the air. Flames were spreading. Inside, dozens of residents and employees needed help escaping.
“Send everybody,” one of the first responding officers radioed.
“We were overwhelmed,” Bristol Township Police Chief CJ Winik said during a news conference Wednesday.
First responders, he said, ran toward danger.
From 50 feet away, Winik said, he could still smell gas and the walls appeared close to collapsing. Yet officers and firefighters continued rushing inside to rescue those trapped.
“I’ve never seen such heroism,” he said.
The facility, formerly known as Silver Lake, housed 120 people, Winik said, including some who couldn’t walk and used a wheelchair. Officers and responding firefighters carried them from the burning building.
Two women, one employee and one resident, died. Nineteen remained hospitalized on Wednesday morning. One person is in critical condition.
// Pinned
// Timestamp 12/24/25 11:22am
19 remain hospitalized, one in critical condition, 2 dead following nursing home explosion
Nineteen people remained hospitalized Wednesday morning, one in critical condition, after an explosion Tuesday afternoon at the Bristol Health and Rehab Center.
Two women — an employee and a resident of the nursing facility, formerly known as Silver Lake — were killed, Bristol Township Police Chief CJ Winik said.
All employees and residents were accounted for as of Wednesday, Winik said.
The cause of the explosion remained under investigation, said Bristol Fire Chief Kevin Dippolito.
“Until we excavate the area and remove the walls and roofs that collapsed, we won’t have any idea what may have occurred in there,” Dippolito said during a news conference on Wednesday.
// Timestamp 12/24/25 11:01am
Former nursing home employee said fire alarms routinely went off, describes state of disrepair
Late Wednesday morning, cranes began to hoist debris from a crumpled tangle of drywall, windows, and a white picket fence.
Donna Straiton watched from behind a line of yellow caution tape a block away from the rubble. It’s what remained, she said, of the nursing home’s kitchen, which sat above its basement.
Straiton, 67, worked in the nursing home’s dementia unit for 20 years before retiring in February 2024. In her final years working at the home, fire alarms routinely went off, she said. She estimated the facility locked down no less than twice a month as the smell of gas wafted in the air.
Most often, she said, the alarm system indicated the fire was in the basement. But no flames were ever seen, she said.
“The fire department would come and we’d get an all clear, and then it would be back to business as usual,” she said.
At a news conference, Bristol Fire Chief Kevin Dippolito said he couldn’t recall how many times his department had been called to the facility in the last several years.
“But I don’t think we’ve been here for the last several weeks,” he said.
Still, Straiton described the facility as being in a constant state of disrepair when she worked there.
When it rained heavily, she said, water would flood the basement and run into the elevator shaft. The elevators were often broken, she said.
The facility “needed a lot of maintenance it was never going to get,” she said.“It was almost like we were just waiting for something like this to happen,” she added.
// Timestamp 12/24/25 10:53am
Aerial footage of Bucks County nursing home explosion
CBS Philadelphia’s chopper is flying over Bucks County this morning, providing a look at the damage from overhead.
— CBS Philadelphia
// Timestamp 12/24/25 9:52am
County officials send condolences, praise first responders in statements
Bucks County Commissioners Vice Chair Diane Ellis-Marseglia said the response to Tuesday’s explosion at the Bristol Health & Rehab Center was proof that the county can unify in the face of tragedy.
“[There is] a lot of division in this country, but we show up when we need to,” said Ellis-Marseglia, a Democrat, about the efforts of first responders.
She said she was sending “warm thoughts” to families impacted by the incident and experiencing the “terrible shock and sadness.”
“And for the people who were injured as well as those who passed, I mean, they got up yesterday like it was any other day and had no idea what would befall them,” Ellis-Marseglia said. “And I’m holding them all close.”
The vice chair’s sentiments echo a statement released by Bucks County on Wednesday morning, expressing officials’ “sincerest condolences to the many victims and families this Christmas Eve who are feeling the devastating impacts of yesterday’s explosion.”
Commissioners’ Chair Bob Harvie was at a news conference outside the center with Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday. The county’s statement commended first responders, nursing home staff, and emergency personnel services that came into Bristol from across Bucks, Philadelphia, and New Jersey.
// Timestamp 12/24/25 9:29am
Peco backtracks with new statement
Peco on Wednesday morning changed its explanation of what happened leading up to Tuesday afternoon’s massive explosion at a Bucks County nursing home that killed at least two people.
On Tuesday evening, the gas and electric company had said that its crews responded to the Bristol Health & Rehab Center — formerly known as Silver Lake Healthcare Center and Silver Lake Nursing Home — “shortly after 2 p.m.” and that while they were on site, the explosion occurred. The blast was reported just before 2:20 p.m. Tuesday, according to Bristol Fire Chief Kevin Dippolito.
But on Wednesday morning, the energy company backtracked, releasing a statement indicating that its crews had actually been on scene hours earlier — although it did not say precisely when they arrived.
“Peco crews responded to reports of a gas odor on Dec. 23 at the Silver Lake Nursing Home at 905 Tower Road in Bristol Township, Bucks County. A few hours later, an explosion occurred at the facility,” company spokesperson Greg Smore said in a statement.
“Peco crews shut off natural gas and electric service to the facility to ensure the safety of first responders and local residents. The cause of this incident is under investigation,” he said. “It is not known at this time if Peco’s equipment, or natural gas, was involved in this incident.”
The company is now directing all questions to the National Transportation Safety Board, which it said was leading the investigation.
“Our hearts go out to the families and community affected by this tragic event,” Smore said.
// Timestamp 12/24/25 8:25am
Video: Fatal explosion and fire at nursing home in Bucks County
// Timestamp 12/24/25 7:20am
2 dead, 20 injured in explosion at Bucks nursing home
Two people were killed and at least 20 were injured after a possible gas explosion rocked a Bucks County nursing home Tuesday, triggering a widespread emergency response and dramatic rescues and causing destruction that Gov. Josh Shapiro described as “quite catastrophic.”
Just before 2:20 p.m., an explosion and fire were reported at the Bristol Health & Rehab Center — formerly known as Silver Lake Healthcare Center and Silver Lake Nursing Home — at 905 Tower Rd. in Bristol Township, Bristol Fire Chief Kevin Dippolito said at a news conference with Shapiro and other officials Tuesday night.
Emergency responders found a major structural collapse, with parts of the first floor falling into the basement and people trapped, Dippolito said. Firefighters immediately went into rescue mode.
“They pulled many residents out of the building via windows, doors, stuck in stairwells, stuck in elevator shafts,” Dippolito said.
The people rescued from the building were handed off to police officers who “came from every direction, and I believe every municipality around here,” Dippolito said.
“There was one police officer who literally threw two people over his shoulders and ran with people to help,” the fire chief said.
Many people were injured, but the number was unknown early Tuesday night, Dippolito said. Two people were rescued from the collapsed area in the basement.
At one point, Dippolito said, there was a heavy odor of gas and the firefighters evacuated the building. Within 15 to 30 seconds, there was another explosion and fire, he said.
— Robert Moran, Max Marin, Ximena Conde
// Timestamp 12/24/25 7:13am
‘It was something out of a Die Hard movie’
On Tuesday evening, the smell of smoke and the sound of sirens from ambulances and fire trucks pierced the blocks surrounding the facility hours after the explosion led to a mass evacuation of nursing home patients.
Kim Wilford, 60, was visiting family for the holidays roughly two blocks from the facility when she felt the house shake, as though something had fallen on the roof.
When Wilford and relatives realized the explosion came from the nursing home, where her 87-year-old mother lives, they rushed to the campus and were met with chaos.
“It was something out of a Die Hard movie,” said Deanna Rice-Bass, 59, one of Wilford’s relatives, who recognized local nurses, not affiliated with the nursing home, evacuating people.
Patients were being wheeled out of the facility, but in some cases they were simply placed on mats outside, Wilford said.
First responders were instructing the able-bodied to take those with non-life-threatening injuries to nearby Lower Bucks Hospital.
Wilford panicked as she saw the outside of her mother’s room.
“Her window was blown out,” she said. “Naturally I freaked out.”
Wilford would later find her mother among the crowd of evacuees cleared to go to Lower Bucks Hospital.
“She said she and her roommate were lifted from their beds and back down,” said Wilford, adding she had never had issues with the nursing home before.
A reunification center was established at Truman High School, officials said.
Langhorne Police Chief Kevin Burns said about 35 families came in and filled out forms with their loved ones identifying information along with details such as their room number.
— Robert Moran, Max Marin, Ximena Conde
// Timestamp 12/24/25 7:12am
Shapiro: ‘There are still a lot of unanswered questions’
During a news conference Tuesday night, Gov. Josh Shapiro said investigators were still working to determine what caused the explosion and to locate anyone who may be missing, urging the public to remain patient as crews work to identify victims.
The total number of injured residents remains unclear because victims were transported to multiple hospitals. Bucks County officials said up to five people were unaccounted for, though Shapiro cautioned that the figures are preliminary and could change as the investigation continues overnight.
“There are still a lot of unanswered questions,” Shapiro said at a news conference Tuesday night. “You’ll have to bear with us as we work to confirm who was injured and who may be missing.”
// Timestamp 12/24/25 7:10am
Map: Location of nursing home explosion in Bristol
State officials repeatedly cited Bristol nursing home over fire safety deficiencies
The Bristol nursing home destroyed by an explosion and fire on Tuesday had been repeatedly cited for unsafe living conditions, including the absence of a fire safety plan and adequate extinguishers, according to state inspection records.
During an Oct. 29 site visit, Pennsylvania Department of Health inspectors flagged Silver Lake Healthcare Center — now operating as Bristol Health & Rehab Center — for failing to provide a floor map showing fire exits, fire barriers, and smoke barriers.
Officials also found the facility “failed to maintain portable fire extinguishers” on all floors. The state ordered corrections by Nov. 30.
It remained unclear Tuesday whether those fixes were made before the blast, or whether the deficiencies affected residents’ ability to escape after an explosion leveled much of the building at 2:19 p.m. this afternoon.
British Township Fire Marshall Kevin Dippolito said Tuesday that a second explosion — and subsequent fire — erupted at the nursing home while firefighters attempted to rescue people.
Other fire safety deficiencies have been documented for years. A 2024 inspection report found the nursing home hallways were not equipped to handle heavy smoke.
“The facility failed to ensure corridor doors were maintained to resist the passage of smoke, affecting two of four smoke compartments,” inspectors wrote.
State and federal officials have also repeatedly cited the facility for substandard medical care.
Ownership of the nursing home has shifted among for-profit operators in recent years. CommuniCare, an Ohio-based company, acquired Silver Lake in 2021. Earlier this month, Saber Healthcare Group took over and rebranded the facility as Bristol Health & Rehab Center.
Saber manages 140 assisted living facilities across six states. At a Tuesday night news conference, Gov. Josh Shapiro said the health department visited the facility again on Dec. 10. New owners agreed to make more fixes, though the governor did not provide details.
“There was a plan in place in order for these new facility owners to upgrade the standards,” Shapiro said. “That work will obviously continue.”
// Timestamp 12/24/25 7:05am
