Schools
Overton High Evacuated Due To 'Sewer Gas'
A "suspicious smell" sent teachers and students into the parking lot at John Overton High School and delayed buses throughout the cluster.
NASHVILLE, TN -- A "suspicious smell" that fire officials believe was backed-up sewer gas forced the evacuation of John Overton High School Wednesday morning, sending teachers and students into the school's parking lot and delaying buses throughout the school's cluster.
A message phoned out to parents shortly before students began arriving said staff noticed a strong sulfur smell in the building and alerted maintenance before 7 a.m. No students were ever inside the building.
Nashville Fire and HAZMAT crews along with personnel from Piedmont Natural Gas were on the scene. Crews found the smell to be isolated to the school's auditorium, believed to be hydrogen sulfide, described by the fire chief as not dangerous, and caused by a backed-up sewer.
Find out what's happening in Antioch-South Nashvillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The incident caused a domino effect resulting in delayed buses throughout Overton's cluster in South Nashville.
Assistant Principal says no students were ever inside; right now firefighters & hazmat crew are inside investigating source of the leak pic.twitter.com/WQWqcXWmbj
— Rebecca Cardenas (@RebeccaWSMV) January 10, 2018
One student was hospitalized after slipping and falling in the wet parking lot.
Find out what's happening in Antioch-South Nashvillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Image via Shutterstock
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.