The governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro offered a conference with the Bristol fire and police team, after an explosion at a retirement home for the elderly that left two dead and 20 injured. The explosion collapsed part of the building and caused a strong fire.
The accident occurred on December 23 around 2:15 p.m. (local time) at Bristol Health and Rehab Center, also known as Silver Lake Nursing Home, in the 900 block of Tower Road in Bristol Township. Emergency crews responded immediately when they received the emergency about a strong smell of gas.
“The search is over.”
The authorities reported during a conference that The explosion happened just as emergency crews were trying to rescue everyone in the nursing home. Police reported they located all employees and residents.
“The search has concluded and an investigation is being carried out,” they said during the conference.
The city’s fire chief, Kevin Dippolito, described the rescue in which Firefighters found people trapped in stairs and elevator shafts and pulled residents out of the burning building through windows and doors, The Associated Press reported.
Gas and electricity supply cut off
The local gas company, PECO, shut off natural gas and electricity to the facility to ensure the safety of emergency personnel and local residents.
Bristol Health & Rehab Center wrote a message on Facebook where they said “We are working closely with local authoritiesand our primary focus remains on the well-being of residents, staff and their families.”
Governor Josh Shapiro expressed “tonight we saw true heroism in Bucks County.”
“Firefighters ran towards the danger to put out the fire and rescue people from the burning building, climbing ladders to get people out of the fire and into the arms of police officers who then literally carried them on their backs to a safe place,” he indicated.
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