December 24, 2025
Daniella Heminghaus/Imagn Images
A wheelchair and emergency rescue sled sit outside the Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Bucks County on Tuesday after two explosions killed two people and injured at least 20 others.
Two people are dead and at least 20 others hospitalized after two explosions at a nursing home facility in Bucks County.
Emergency responders were called around 2:15 p.m. Tuesday for the first explosion at Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Bristol Township. Utility crews were on site to investigate a gas leak, but it's unknown at this time what caused the blast. The two people who died have not been identified, but they were reportedly a resident and an employee.
Officials said the building partially collapsed, leaving people trapped inside stairwells and elevator shafts. Firefighters were handing victims to police officers who were waiting outside, and one rescuer threw two people over his shoulders to get them to safety, according to Fire Chief Kevin Dippolito. A second explosion took place in the midst of rescue efforts.
Firefighters from multiple municipalities responded to the scene.
Initial reports said five people were unaccounted for following rescue efforts, but Bristol Police Chief Charles Winik Jr. said they had all been located late Tuesday night, the New York Times reported. An investigation into the explosion is ongoing. Bristol Township remains in a state of emergency.
The effects of the blasts were felt around the area. One woman who was visiting family in a home two blocks from the facility told the Inquirer that she felt the house shake, and another neighbor told the New York Times they found debris, dust and scrap metal in their yard.
Crews search among the debris from the blasts.
Bristol Health & Rehab Center, formerly Silver Lake Healthcare Center, has 174 beds and is newly affiliated with Saber Healthcare Group as of Dec. 1. In a press briefing following the incident, Gov. Josh Shapiro said the new managers developed a plan to update the facility on Dec. 10 after a visit from the Pennsylvania Health Department.
Officials said the building partially collapsed, leaving people trapped inside stairwells and elevator shafts.
The latest state inspection report from October said the center did not have an accurate set of floor plans and failed to properly maintain multiple stairways. Portable fire extinguishers on one of the three levels had also not been maintained, and the facility lacked barrier partitions for containing smoke.
Rescuers move around the building.
