A violent explosion at a nursing home outside of Philadelphia collapsed part of the building, leaving people injured and possibly trapped inside, authorities said.
The explosion occurred at the Bristol Health & Rehab Center (Silver Lake Healthcare Center) in Bristol Township just as a power plant crew was inside looking for a gas leak, although the cause of the explosion was unclear hours later, as was the extent of the casualties.
A plume of black smoke rose from the nursing home as paramedics, fire engines and ambulances from across the region, joined by earthmoving equipment, rushed to the scene.
Authorities said there were injuries, but have not yet said if there have been any deaths.
Police Lt. Sean Cosgrove said he did not know if anyone was missing and that residents were being evacuated by first responders, bystanders and staff.
“Many details are still unknown at this point,” he told reporters at the scene.
Bucks County Emergency Management officials said they received a report of the explosion at approximately 2:17 p.m., and said part of the building had reportedly collapsed. Ruth Miller, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, said her agency had been notified that people were trapped inside.
No official information on possible victims was immediately available. Philadelphia NBC affiliate WCAU reported that there were multiple injuries.
Bucks County EMS received a report of an explosion with injuries at Silver Lake Nursing Home in Bristol Township, about 21 miles northeast of Philadelphia, shortly after 2 p.m. EST, a county spokesman said.
“Part of the building has reportedly collapsed,” spokesman Jim O’Malley said in an emailed statement, adding that emergency responders from multiple agencies were dispatched.
The front of the structure appeared to have been blasted from the inside, but most of the equipment remained standing, although most of the windows were broken, according to a Reuters photographer at the scene.
The exact number of patients and staff inside at the time was not immediately known. The nursing home is certified for up to 174 beds, according to the provider’s official Medicare website.
More than 50 patients, ranging in age from 50 to 95, are typically in the building at any one time, WCAU-TV reported, citing a nurse employed by the facility who arrived at the scene after the explosion.
An unspecified number of patients were then evacuated from the building by firefighters, police, medical personnel, bystanders and staff, Lt. Sean Cosgrove of the Bristol Township Police Department told local online news platform LevittownNow.com.
Willie Tye, who lives about a block away, said he was sitting at home watching a basketball game on TV when he heard a “loud kaboom.”
“I thought a plane or something came and fell on my house,” Tye said.
He got up to go look and saw “fire everywhere” and people escaping from the building. The explosion appeared to have occurred in a nursing home kitchen, he said. Tye said some people who live or work there couldn’t handle it.
“I have to keep praying for them,” Tye said.
The cause of the explosion was unclear.
Local gas utility PECO said crews responded to reports of a gas odor at the nursing home shortly after 2 p.m.
“While crews were on scene, an explosion occurred at the facility. PECO crews shut off natural gas and electricity to the facility to ensure the safety of first responders and local residents,” the company said in a statement.
Nils Hagen-Frederiksen, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission, said investigators from the security division were heading to the scene.
Hagen-Frederiksen said first responders and emergency management officials were describing it as a gas explosion, but that would not be confirmed until his agency could examine the scene more closely.
Musuline Watson, who said she is a registered nurse at the facility, told WPVI-TV/ABC 6 that she and others smelled gas over the weekend, but “there was no heat in the room, so we didn’t think it was anything.”
The nursing home is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Philadelphia. Its owner, Saber Healthcare Group, said it was working with local emergency authorities. Until recently, the facility was known as Silver Lake Healthcare Center.
Jim Morgan, president of the Bristol Township School Board, said district buses will take people from the nursing home to the reunification center at Truman High School. He said officials are working to set up beds and provide water and other necessities to residents.
“It’s just something that’s sad for everybody and for the families and the workers that are there,” Davis said.
According to Medicare.govthe 174-bed facility passed a standard fire inspection in September 2024 in which no citations were issued. But the overall Medicare facility rating is listed as “well below average,” with health inspections in particular scoring poorly.
