Gas smell at nursing home was reported hours before deadly explosion,
report says
[January 29, 2026]
By MARK SCOLFORO
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Hours before a deadly explosion ripped through a
Pennsylvania nursing home last month, staff grew concerned about the
smell of natural gas on several floors and brought in workers from the
local utility company to check it out, federal regulators said
Wednesday.
The preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board
provides details about the three hours that passed between the report of
a gas odor and the thunderous blast in Bristol, just outside
Philadelphia, as well as how utility workers were on the scene for much
of that time. It also notes that a utility worker traced the leak to a
valve in a meter set in the basement boiler room.
While the presence of utility workers and witness accounts of a heavy
gas smell in the explosion's aftermath raised questions about a possible
leak, PECO had said at the time it could not determine the cause or
whether its equipment was involved.
Two residents and an employee were killed and about 20 people injured,
including one of the utility workers, just a few days before Christmas.
Part of the building collapsed, trapping people inside, as emergency
workers, staff and even medics from a nearby hospital rushed to evacuate
people.
Exelon, PECO’s parent company, shut off the gas flow to the facility
almost two hours after the explosion, according to the report. It’s not
clear why it took that long to do so.
Investigators plan to focus on Exelon’s pipeline safety management and
how it trains people, their qualifications, “odor complaint response”
and other factors.
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Damage from an explosion at Bristol Health & Rehab Center is seen,
Dec. 24, 2025, in Bristol Township, Pa. (Monica Herndon/The
Philadelphia Inquirer via AP, File)
With the new report, a PECO spokesperson said the company recognizes
“the importance of continuous improvement and vigilance with respect
to the safe and reliable delivery of electric and natural gas
service.” The emailed statement expressed sympathy to the victims
and their families, to displaced residents and to the wider
community.
According to the report, a maintenance director at Bristol Health &
Rehab Center reported the smell of natural gas in the basement on
Dec. 23 and called the utility company. The PECO worker arrived at
Bristol Health & Rehab Center just before noon, about an hour after
the odor was detected. Staff also smelled gas on the first and
second floors.
The Exelon energy technician determined there was a leak on a meter
set valve in the basement and called for help fixing it. A meter set
includes the meter, regulator, piping, valves and fittings.
An Exelon foreman sent out a meter services technician to make the
repair. He arrived at about 1:20 p.m. The explosion occurred at
around 2:15 p.m.
Federal inspectors say the line and gas equipment have been tested,
with some items sent to a lab for more study.
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