NTSB releases new report on deadly Bucks County nursing home explosion
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a new report on an explosion at a Bucks County nursing home that killed three people and injured 20 others.
The explosion occurred at the Bristol Health and Rehab Center in Bristol, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 23, 2025. Muthoni Nduthu, a 52-year-old Kenyan immigrant who worked at the facility, and an unidentified resident at the nursing home both died in the explosion. In early January 2026, another nursing home resident – 66-year-old Patricia Mero – died from injuries she suffered during the blast.
Deadly nursing home explosion
On Wednesday, Jan. 28, the NTSB released a report that included a detailed timeline on the blast as well as the events leading up to it.
Latest report from the NTSB
On Dec. 23, 2025, shortly after 11 a.m., a maintenance director at the Bristol Health and Rehab Center reported a natural gas odor in the basement boiler room and first-floor hallway at the nursing home. The report was sent to the utility company PECO, a subsidiary of the Exelon Corporation which provided natural gas to the nursing home through a distribution system. That system included an underground 1.25-inch-diameter coated steel service line and an indoor rotary meter set that was located in the building’s basement, the NTSB said.
An Exelon energy technician then arrived at the facility around 11:50 a.m. that morning. The technician identified a leak on a meter set valve in the basement boiler room and called dispatch to request help with the repair, according to the NTSB. Exelon’s foreman then directed a meter services technician to perform the repair. The foreman arrived at the facility around 1:20 p.m. that afternoon, the NTSB said.
During interviews with the NTSB, the Bristol Health maintenance director and other personnel said they smelled natural gas in the basement, first floor and second floor of the building shortly before the explosion. The building then exploded around 2:15 p.m. that afternoon while around 180 people were at the facility.
At 2:17 p.m., firefighters and rescue units responded to the explosion which caused the building to collapse. The NTSB said the first responders arrived within a minute of the reported explosion and initiated a search and rescue operation. More units were requested and more first responders arrived, including the Third District Fire Company, Bristol Township Fire Rescue, the Bucks County Rescue Squad and Bristol Township Police, according to the NTSB.
The NTSB said the search and rescue operation lasted about six hours.
Emergency responders with Exelon also arrived around 2:42 p.m. and isolated the natural gas flow to the facility around 3:50 p.m. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission told Exelon to conduct bar hole tests which identified subsurface gas outside of the building around 5 p.m.
The NTSB also arrived at the scene and directed integrity and pressure testing of the facility’s service line and gas equipment. They also examined the accident site and interviewed people. The NTSB recovered the indoor meter set, excavated portions of the service line that did not hold pressuring during pressure testing and sent the items to their laboratory for further examination.
In their Jan. 28 report, the NTSB said their investigation is ongoing and they will next focus on evaluating physical evidence that was collected at the site. They will also review Exelon’s pipeline safety management system as well as its personnel training, operator qualifications, task-specific procedures, odor complaint response, documentation and emergency response.
The NTSB’s future investigation will include the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Bristol Township Office of the Fire Marshal, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 614, and the Saber Healthcare Group.
PECO responds
A PECO spokesperson sent the following statement in response to the NTSB report:
We want to express our most heartfelt sympathies to the families and friends of those who lost their lives, to those who were injured, to the residents who have been displaced, and to the entire Bristol community affected by this tragic event.
Independent of any external investigation, PECO remains committed to the integrity of our system and ensuring our processes and procedures are designed to address a range of situations. Nevertheless, we recognize the importance of continuous improvement and vigilance with respect to the safe and reliable delivery of electric and natural gas service.
Following any significant incident, PECO promptly identifies and implements opportunities to enhance our service for customers and the communities we serve. Our response to this incident underscores our dedication to ongoing improvement and the importance of maintaining the highest standards of safety and reliability.
We have recently taken steps to enhance the safety and reliability of our system, and the safety and performance of our dedicated and highly skilled employees and contractors. Some of these efforts include:
- Assessed existing population of meters currently located indoors and reprioritized relocation of indoor meters to outdoor locations.
- Strengthened procedures and training with our employees and enhanced processes to help ensure employees responding to issues are equipped to further maintain the safety of our systems.
- Updated our public outreach process.
PECO is committed to reinforcing and enhancing our safety-first culture for our customers, employees, contractors, and entire service area.
As we continue to be an active participant in the NTSB investigation around this event, please direct all questions about the preliminary report and overall investigation to the NTSB.
Multiple lawsuits filed
Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the nursing home facility, the owner of the nursing home, PECO, and Exelon. One of the lawsuits was filed by the widower of Muthoni Nduthu. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of knowing about the gas leak and odor at the facility for “multiple hours, if not multiple days” before the explosion occurred but still not choosing to evacuate residents, visitors or workers.
Six people who were injured in the explosion also sued the facility and PECO.
