Report Details How Bucks Co. Nursing Home Blast Happened

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA — The National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday released a preliminary report on a gas explosion at a Bristol Township nursing home that killed three people last month.

According to the NTSB report, the maintenance director of the Bristol Health and Rehab Center contacted PECO around 11 a.m. on Dec. 23 to report a natural gas odor in the basement boiler room and a first-floor hallway.

PECO's parent company Exelon provided natural gas to the facility through a distribution system that included an underground 1.25-inch-diameter, coated steel service line and an indoor rotary meter set located in the basement, the report states.

An Exelon energy technician arrived just before noon that day and identified a leak on a meter set valve in the boiler room, the NTSB report.

The report said that the technician then contacted dispatch for repair assistance, and an Exelon foreman dispatched a meter services technician to make the repair around 1:20 p.m.

"Both the foreman and the meter services technician had less than one year of experience in their current roles with Exelon," the report said.

In interviews with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Bristol Health maintenance director and other personnel recalled smelling natural gas odorant in the basement, first floor, and second floor of the building shortly before the explosion.

The building exploded about 2:15 p.m., with about 180 people at the facility, the report said.

Two people were killed in the blast, while a third person died from injuries earlier this month. Over 20 other people suffered injuries in the blast.

The victims were identified as residents Patricia Mero, 66, and Ann Reddy, and 52-year-old nurse Muthoni Nduthu.

Bucks County responders arrived within a minute after the gas explosion and initiated a search and rescue operation.

Additional units were requested, and the response included the Third District Fire Company, Bristol Township Fire Rescue, the Bucks County Rescue Squad, and the Bristol Township Police.

The search and rescue operation concluded about six hours after the explosion.

Exelon emergency responders arrived about 2:42 p.m. and isolated natural gas flow to the facility about 3:50 p.m. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission directed Exelon to conduct bar hole tests, which identified subsurface gas outside of the building about 5:00 p.m., the report said.

While on scene, the NTSB directed and oversaw integrity and pressure testing of the service line and gas equipment, examined the accident site, and conducted interviews.

The NTSB recovered the indoor meter set, excavated portions of the service line that did not hold pressure during pressure testing, and delivered these items to the NTSB Materials Laboratory for further examination.

The investigation is ongoing.

Future investigative activity will focus on evaluating physical evidence collected at the site and on reviewing Exelon’s pipeline safety management system as well as its practices related to personnel training and operator qualifications, task-specific procedures, odor complaint response, documentation, and emergency response.