Explosion kills 2 at Bristol’s Silver Lake Nursing Home, search continues

An explosion left Silver Lake Nursing Home partially collapsed and on fire Dec. 23, killing two and leaving at least five other unaccounted for.

Officials said two have died in the gas explosion, but they did not say if they were employees of the nursing home or PECO workers. The names were not released and authorities are still investigating what lead to the explosion.

There are at least five people unaccounted for but Bristol Township Fire Marshal Kevin Dippolito said at a Tuesday night news conference. He said officials believe all the residents of the nursing home are accounted for. Dippolito called the operations a rescue operation at this point and that they are combing the basement, with rescuers who are working by hand and with cadaver dogs.

What is a mass casualty incident? Silver Lake Nursing home explosion sparks call

He also confirmed there was a second explosion in the basement, but that firefighters were able to evacuate and rescued at least two people from the basement before the second explosion.

PECO crews were on site, also known as Bristol Rehab & Health, before the explosion checking on a strong odor of gas, the utility said.

Some nearby residents said they heard the blast and felt their homes shake in the neighborhood around the facility at the border of Bristol Township and Bristol Borough. The calls came in after 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Police on scene would not say the extent of injuries or whether there were fatalities. By 5:15 p.m., first responders at the explosion site were using flashlights and at least one search dog to go through the wreckage of a collapsed dining room.

One employee said she had to escape as the walls caved in around her and a resident of the center after hearing an explosion in the basement below.

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The nursing home is along Tower Road, between Bath Road and Fayette Drive, near Lower Bucks Hospital. A dispatch post put the response at three-alarms for a possible gas explosion, but the information could not be immediately confirmed. The dispatch reported evacuation orders and possible entrapment.

Bucks County Emergency Operations Center employees were activated to assist in the response.

What officials say happened at Silver Lake Nursing Home?

At approximately 2:17 p.m., Bucks County 911 received a report of an explosion with multiple injuries at Silver Lake Nursing Home in Bristol Township. A portion of the building is reported to have collapsed, according to a statement from the county.

Numerous agencies were dispatched to the scene from Bucks County as well as Montgomery County, Burlington County, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. Bucks County Emergency Services is on scene assisting with the response.

Bucks County Emergency Management continues to work to coordinate resources to support first responders at the scene.

Shortly after 2 p.m., PECO crews responded to reports of a gas odor at the Silver Lake Nursing Home.

While crews were on site, an explosion occurred at the facility, PECO 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 utility said.

Bristol explosion impacts neighborhood

The area around the nursing home was covered in the heavy gray smoke of the fire Tuesday afternoon. At one point onlookers were told to back up behind a hill out of a concern for an explosion.

There was a heavy and active emergency response at the site. Firefighters retreated because of air monitors alerting high concentration of gas, according to sources on site. First responders were waiting for PECO employees to clear the site, and a request has been made for more assistance.Philadelphia fire collapse rescue team members were also arriving on scene, along with crews from New Jersey. Rescuers have deployed search cams to look into the void spaces, according to radio reports.

At around 4 p.m., crews were preparing to conduct a secondary search of the second floor, according to radio reports.

A total of three excavators are on scene, and two more are on the way. Crews are currently mapping out the building to determine which areas are stable to send the search dog in, according to radio reports.

Water was running through the streets as countless firefighters battled the blaze at the entrance near Fayette Drive.

First responders had also taken at least three elderly residents out on gurneys, and multiple injuries have been reported.

Nurses and others in scrubs from Lower Bucks Hospital next door gathered around the scene, watching and offering blankets and more assistance to residents who were removed from the building.

Sliver Lake Nursing home employee escapes collapse in Bristol explosion

An employee named Bri said she was working in the activities room, painting the nails of one of her residents when she smelled a strong odor of gas. The next thing she knew there was an explosion, which she thought was a car accident, she said.

The walls came in and the ceiling caved in, she said. She managed to escape out at one of the large windows in the activity room that had blown out.

She said that the activity room, kitchen, dining room area are all above the basement area where the explosion occurred. She also said that employees were in the basement filling a gas tank. Bri said that she wasn’t sure if the four residents she was assigned to escaped.

The nursing home fire has not impacted operations at the Lower Bucks Hospital, which remained open, hospital spokeswoman Michelle Aliprantis said in a text message.

“We are working closely with local authorities and emergency response partners to support medical needs as appropriate. Our emergency department is prepared and available to assist,” Aliprantis said.

Neighbors help in Silver Lake Nursing home rescue

Joe Westergon was at home a few blocks away when he heard the explosion. He was among the first there and carried six injured residents to safety.

“The glass walled room was there, and it’s all blown out now,” he said pointing to the heap of glass and bent metal debris. “I think they were doing arts and crafts. They were just sitting there in their wheelchairs.

“I was taking them over to the curb and sitting them down,” he said, “I was trying to keep them as calm as possible.”

There was a triage set up at the site but when the fire grew too intense, rescuers moved it down the block.

Of those Westergon helped, no one appeared to have life-threatening injuries.

“They’ll live but they were pretty tore up, some were bleeding,” he said. Westergon watched the firefighters douse the building after the rescue. “I got blood on me,” he said looking down at his clothes.

About Silver Lake Nursing home

Silver Lake is a for-profit health care center that offers both short-term and long-term care, according to U.S. News and World Report, with 174 beds. The facility is rated “much below average” by medicare.gov based on health and complaint inspections and infection control.

The center holds an average of 158 patients per day, according to ProPublica data from July 2025.

The name was changed from Silver Lake Nursing Home to Bristol Rehab & Health Center, and is now owned by Ohio-based Saber Healthcare Group.

Musuline Watson has worked in the building since 2003 and just missed the explosion in the nursing home’s dining room around 2 p.m. because she was running late for her shift that was supposed to start shortly after.

She was told that all the residents were rescued while some employees suffered some injuries when the ceilings and walls fell around them. Watson said they’ve had no real issues but have complained about smelling gas off and on over the past year.

Officials respond to Bristol explosion at Silver Lake Nursing Home

Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, of Middletown, and Pa. State Rep. Tina Davis, representing Bristol Township and Bristol Borough in the 141st District, said in separate statements they were monitoring the situation at Silver Lake.

“I am deeply concerned by the reports of an explosion and fire at the Silver Lake Nursing Home in Bristol Township,” Davis said in a statement. “My thoughts are with the residents, their families, and the staff during this frightening situation.”

“For everyone’s safety, I urge you to please avoid the area,” Fitzpatrick urged in a Facebook post. “Please also join me in praying for the safety of the residents of the nursing home, the dedicated staff who care for them, and our brave first responders who rushed to the scene and ran toward danger without hesitation.”

Gov. Josh Shapiro said he has been briefed on the explosion and state emergency officials are in Bristol Township. “@PAStatePolice have offered their full support and any resources needed. The scene is still active, and folks nearby should follow the direction of local authorities. Please join Lori and me in praying for the Bristol community,” he wrote on X.

Later in the evening, Shapiro visited Lower Bucks Hospital to praise the first responders who helped to rescue residents and employees.

“In the immediate moments after the explosion you saw what real heroism was about,” Shapiro said.

“Firefighters (were) rushing toward  a fire while others are trying to get away in order to keep this community safe.”

Rescuers climbed up ladders, handed waiting police officers who carried them to safety. One officer carried two residents — one on each shoulder, Shapiro said.

“This is a very very tragic moment for this community,” Shapiro said.

Investigators believe it was a gas leak that sparked the explosion, the governor told reporters, who gathered with him in the parking lot of Lower Bucks Hospital.

Check back for details on this developing story.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Explosion leaves 2 dead, 5 missing at Silver Lake Nursing Home