How Truman HS Opened Emergency Center After Nursing Home Blast

When a Bristol Township nursing home explosion killed and injured several people two days before Christmas, the Bristol Township School District pivoted from a holiday break mindset to one of emergency management.

School officials detailed the Dec. 23 response during a recent board meeting.

They described how Harry S. Truman High School was rapidly transformed into a potential operations center for responders and rally point for victims, families, and first responders.

Superintendent Michael Nitti said that local and county officials requested the high school’s use as an operations center.

“We got a phone call at 3 o’clock. I got to the gym at 3:20,” said School Board President James Morgan.

Morgan recalled meeting Operations Director Michael Cox at the door, who “already had beds and cots rolling.”

The mobilization involved a coordinated effort across multiple district departments.

According to Morgan, the district established a fully functional support site, including 100 beds and a first aid station stocked with food and water, within 40 minutes of the initial call.

Officials said Transportation Coordinator Traci Williams dispatched two buses to the explosion site within minutes, as district Health Coordinator Regina Jones led a team of seven to eight nurses.

Shortly after the call to use the high school came in, Safety and Security Coordinator Luke Miller and the entire Truman administrative team began assisting with the transformation.

The high school’s food and beverage coordinator provided coffee and water while preparing meals for responders.

He praised the staff members who “rushed over there to get it ready and to make it happen.”

Within an hour of the doors opening at the high school, residents began delivering supplies.

“We had one family drop off 20 pizzas. Another family showed up with donuts and coffee hoagies,” Morgan said. “It was really right before the holidays, something very special to see.”

Nitti stated he received numerous “compliments and accolades” from involved agencies regarding the district team’s professionalism.

The quick deployment showed off the district’s emergency readiness and the character of its employees, Morgan noted.

“It showed to me that this district’s ready for anything you throw us,” Morgan said. “I want to thank our staff that they just kept coming in the door helping out. ‘What do we need? What do we need? What do we need?’ It was fantastic.”