BUCKS COUNTY, PA — A "catastrophic"explosion at a nursing homejust outside of Philadelphia killed at least two people, injured 20 others, and left the facility partially collapsed on Tuesday, authorities and officials said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said at a news conference that at least two people were killed after the explosion at theBristol Health & Rehab Centerin Bristol Township, a suburb of Philadelphia. Police reported late Tuesday that there was a third death, but later confirmed the victim was alive.
Bristol Township Police Chief Charles Winik said 20 people were injured. Those reported missing earlier in the day have been located and are alive, he added.
"The search has concluded because everybody's accounted for," he said at around 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
The explosion occurred at about 2:19 p.m. ET, according to Bristol Township Fire Marshal Kevin Dippolito. Bucks County 911 received a report of the nursing home explosion with multiple injuries, the Bucks County Courier Times, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.
The victims' identities were not immediately known.
The county said a portion of the facility, also known as the Silver Lake Healthcare Center, collapsed. Video from the scene showed flames shooting up from the structure shortly after the explosion.
The explosion occurred while crews from PECO, the local energy company, were on site checking on a strong odor of gas reported shortly after 2 p.m., the utility said. PECO crews shut off natural gas and electric service to the facility after the explosion.
'Explosion was really quite catastrophic'
Shapiro noted that investigations into the cause of the explosion were underway. The state Public Utility Commission was at the scene working with PECO, according to the governor.
"We believe preliminarily that it was a gas leak that led to that," Shapiro said at the news conference. "The explosion was really quite catastrophic."
Authorities were still conducting rescue operations through the evening and had not yet transitioned into recovery operations, Dippolito said.
What happened in the Pennsylvania nursing home blast?
After the incident occurred, Dippolito said the "radios lit up" with reports of an explosion at the nursing home.
The Bristol Township Department of Fire Rescue immediately responded to the scene and discovered there was a major structural collapse with multiple people trapped. Fire personnel went into "rescue mode," according to Dippolito.
"They pulled many residents out of the building via windows, doors, stuck in stairwells, stuck in elevator shafts," the fire chief said. "Those who were outside the building already injured, and those that were being brought out by the fire department were handed off to the police officers... were literally carrying the patients as we handed them off to them."
Two people were rescued from the collapsed structure in the basement, Dippolito said. At the time, Dippolito said crews also observed a "heavy odor of gas" and evacuated people from the building before the second explosion occurred about thirty seconds later.
"There was another explosion and fire," according to the fire chief. "The fire actually helped us identify where the leak was coming from in the basement, and we just prevented it from spreading into other parts of the building."
They rescued as many as possible, he said. Outside, first responders shouted to nearby onlookers, "Move back! Move back!"
'What real heroism is all about'
Both Shapiro and Dippolito praised the emergency response to the explosion.
Officials said fire crews climbed up ladders to rescue people from the facility and handed them to police. One police officer carried two people on his shoulder, according to Dippolito.
"In the immediate moments after the explosion, you saw what real heroism is all about," Shapiro said. "Firefighters rushed to this scene in order to contain the explosion, in order to put out the fire, and most importantly, in order to rescue people."
Heavy machinery available to assist with search and rescue
Bristol Township officials declared a local emergency on Tuesday in response to the explosion and building collapse.
The declaration will allow authorities to bring in additional resources, such as specialized equipment to assist in stabilizing the building and searching through the rubble, Dippolito said. He added that crews currently have heavy machinery at the scene to move the heavy debris.
The township is located in Lower Bucks County near the New Jersey border, a few miles from Philadelphia. The nursing home is located near the Lower Bucks Hospital.
Employee smelled gas before blast
While authorities are still investigating the cause of the explosion, an employee at the nursing home told the Bucks County Courier Times that she smelled a strong odor of gas in the facility's activity room just before an explosion from the basement brought down the ceiling around her and a resident.
PECO crews were responding to reports of a gas odor at the nursing home shortly before 2 p.m. ET, the utility said in a statement. The blast occurred while crews were on site.
"PECO crews shut off natural gas and electric service to the facility to ensure the safety of first responders and local residents," the utility said. "It is not known at this time if PECO's equipment, or natural gas, was involved in this incident."
Residents heard an explosion blocks away
Nearby residents said they heard and felt their homes shake after the blast.
Joe Westergon, who was home when he heard the explosion a few blocks away, told the Courier Journal that he helped carry six injured residents to safety.
"I was taking them over to the curb and sitting them down," Westergon said. "I was trying to keep them as calm as possible... They'll live, but they were pretty tore up, some were bleeding."
Nurses from Lower Bucks Hospital next door gathered at the scene, offering blankets and help to evacuated residents.
What is the Silver Lake Healthcare Center?
Silver Lake is a for-profit nursing home with about 174 certified beds, according to Medicare.gov. The federal agency listed its overall rating, based on health inspections, staffing, and quality measures, as "below average."
The most recent fire safety inspection occurred in September 2024, yielding no citations for fire safety and emergency preparedness, according to Medicare.gov.
During the news conference, Shapiro said the facility went under new ownership in early December. On Dec. 10, the state Department of Health conducted a visit to the facility, according to the governor.
"There was a plan put in place in order for these new facility owners to upgrade the standards at this facility," Shapiro said. "That work will obviously continue with the new owners to ensure that they do what is necessary to keep residents safe at this facility and at the others."
The facility's owner, Saber Healthcare Group, said it was working with local emergency authorities and that its "primary focus remains on the well-being of residents, staff, and their families."
Contributing: Chris Ullery, JD Mullane, Jess Rohan, and Michele Haddon,Bucks County Courier Times
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Pennsylvania nursing home explosion leaves 2 dead and 20 injured