Gas smell at nursing home was reported hours before deadly explosion, report says

Federal investigators revealed Wednesday that staff at a Pennsylvania nursing home detected a natural gas odor hours before a devastating explosion killed three people and injured about 20 others last December.

According to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), employees at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, located just outside Philadelphia, noticed the smell of gas in the building’s basement and on multiple floors. The maintenance director contacted the local utility company, PECO, which dispatched a worker to investigate the situation.

The PECO worker arrived approximately one hour after the odor was first detected, just before noon on December 23. The technician traced the leak to a valve in a meter set located in the basement boiler room of the facility and subsequently called for assistance to make the necessary repairs.

An additional meter services technician was sent by an Exelon foreman and arrived at the nursing home at approximately 1:20 p.m. Less than an hour later, at around 2:15 p.m., the building was rocked by an explosion that partially collapsed the structure, killing two residents and an employee.

One of the utility workers was among those injured in the blast, which occurred just days before Christmas. The catastrophic event prompted emergency workers, staff members, and even medical personnel from a nearby hospital to rush to the scene to evacuate residents, many of whom were trapped in the collapsed portion of the building.

Notably, the report indicates that Exelon, PECO’s parent company, did not shut off the gas flow to the facility until almost two hours after the explosion occurred. The document does not explain the reason for this delay.

The NTSB investigation will now focus on Exelon’s pipeline safety management practices, including employee training, worker qualifications, and protocols for responding to gas odor complaints. Federal inspectors have already tested the gas line and equipment from the facility, with some components being sent to a laboratory for more detailed examination.

In response to the preliminary findings, a PECO spokesperson issued a statement acknowledging “the importance of continuous improvement and vigilance with respect to the safe and reliable delivery of electric and natural gas service.” The statement also expressed condolences to the victims and their families, as well as to displaced residents and the broader community affected by the tragedy.

The release of this report provides significant new details about the sequence of events leading up to the explosion. While questions had been raised immediately after the incident about a possible gas leak due to witness accounts describing a strong gas odor and the presence of utility workers, PECO had initially stated it could not determine the cause or confirm whether its equipment was involved.

Natural gas explosions in institutional settings like nursing homes are particularly dangerous due to the vulnerable population they serve and the complexity of evacuating residents with mobility issues or cognitive impairments. Such incidents often raise questions about inspection protocols, maintenance schedules, and emergency response procedures.

The meter set identified in the report as the leak source includes the gas meter, regulator, piping, valves, and fittings—all critical components in safely delivering natural gas to a facility. Failures in these systems can allow gas to accumulate to dangerous levels, creating the potential for catastrophic explosions when the gas encounters an ignition source.

As the investigation continues, authorities will likely examine whether proper inspection and maintenance procedures were followed, if the response time by utility workers was appropriate, and whether the nursing home staff took adequate precautions once the gas odor was detected.