Jan. 7, 2026, 5:45 p.m. ET
The union representing PECO gas employees has confirmed one of its members was among the 19 people injured in the Dec. 23 fatal explosion at a Bristol Township nursing home.
The confirmation is the first public statement the IBEW 64 Local has made since the blast that killed three people and displaced more than 100 residents and employees at the Bristol Health & Rehab Center.
“IBEW Local 614, which represents PECO gas workers and linemen, continues to pray for everyone impacted by the tragic explosion in Bristol, including one of our members,” union president Larry Anastasi said in the Jan. 7 release.
The worker, who was not identified, sustained “severe” injuries, and faces a “long recovery ahead,” according to the release. The press release stated the man was hospitalized, but has been released.
After he was injured in the explosion, the man re-entered the building to assist with rescuing others, “an act of extraordinary courage and selflessness,” Anastasi said in the release.
“Our members do essential work to keep power and heat on for communities across southeast Pennsylvania, and sometimes that means putting themselves in a great deal of danger,” he added.
The press release did not specify the type of injuries the worker sustained in the explosion at the former Silver Lake Nursing Home.
The statement was issued Wednesday in response to multiple inquiries about the injured member’s recovery, according to a union spokeswoman. She did not respond to emailed questions about the worker and what he was doing at the building the day of the explosion.
The union is cooperating with the investigations and believes a “thorough review is critical to ensuring a safe system for both workers and the public,” according to the statement.
Anastasi has not responded to multiple emails seeking comment over the last two weeks.
But the day after the explosion, he confirmed the worker, a gas technician, suffered severe burns on his face and hands and shrapnel injuries, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The technician was working alone in the building basement to assess a report of a gas leak, Anastasi told the newspaper. The worker left the building to get more tools from his truck and as he was walking back to the nursing home it exploded, he said.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the ongoing investigation into the explosion and its cause and a preliminary report could be issued later this month.
PECO and Saber Healthcare Group, a management consultant for the nursing home’s owner, have confirmed that the private utility workers were onsite before the explosion for reports of a gas odor.
The first lawsuit in the explosion was filed earlier this week by three former workers and a resident of the Tower Road nursing home who were seriously injured alleging “overwhelming negligence.”
PECO, Exelon Corp., Bristol Health & Rehab Center and its management consultant Saber Healthcare Group are named as defendants.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants were aware that a gas leak in the building’s boiler room, which is serviced by PECO natural gas, had been “festering for days,” but didn’t take necessary steps to evacuate and fix the leak.
Another Bucks County attorney representing other victims says his clients said that PECO was at the building for a report of a gas leak in the boiler room for two hours before the explosion, and that the gas odor became more pronounced about 30 minutes before the explosion.
Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com
date: 2026-01-07 22:58:00
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