Campus Alert Archive
Belmont

A Construction Crew Hit a Gas Line on Compton Avenue, and Belmont Cleared a One-Block Radius Around the Troutt Theater

TNgas leakemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On the morning of Tuesday, April 9, 2019, a construction crew struck a natural-gas line near 15th and Compton Avenue, just off Belmont University's Nashville campus, triggering a major gas leak. Nashville Fire Department crews evacuated a one-block radius, including limited evacuations near the Troutt Theater complex on campus. Piedmont Natural Gas shut off the line around 10:40 a.m. CDT, and the Fire Department gave the all-clear.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Belmont University
Private Masters · TN
~8,400 studentsBelmont Alerts
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction190 chars
Belmont Alerts: Gas leak near 15th and Compton Ave. Evacuate buildings near the Troutt Theater and avoid the area. Nashville Fire Department is on scene. Await an all-clear before returning.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from reporting that NFD 'evacuated a one block radius' with 'limited evacuations near the Troutt Theater complex' on the Belmont campus.
Belmont's published emergency materials list Belmont Alerts (text, email, voice) as the campus notification system, the most likely channel for this evacuation message.
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction165 chars
Belmont Alerts: The gas leak near 15th and Compton has been stopped and the evacuation is lifted. You may return to campus buildings. Normal operations have resumed.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed all-clear; WKRN reported the Fire Department gave the all-clear after Piedmont shut off the line around 10:40 a.m. CDT and residual gas was bled off by ~10:50 a.m.
This is a genuine all-clear that lifts the evacuation, distinct from the initial evacuation directive.
Context

Background

Belmont University is a private campus in Nashville's Belmont-Hillsboro neighborhood, where dense construction repeatedly put natural-gas lines at risk; a second construction-caused gas leak near campus followed in February 2020. In this April 9, 2019 incident, the Nashville Fire Department evacuated a one-block radius near the Curb Events Center and Troutt Theater until Piedmont Natural Gas shut off the line and the all-clear was issued. Belmont's own Belmont Alerts emergency-notification system is the campus channel for such events. The case is a textbook construction-strike gas-leak evacuation with a clean all-clear.
Analysis

Key Findings

A construction crew struck a gas line near 15th and Compton Ave by Belmont's campus on the morning of April 9, 2019
Nashville Fire Department evacuated a one-block radius, including near-campus buildings by the Troutt Theater
Piedmont Natural Gas shut off the line around 10:40 a.m. CDT and the Fire Department issued an all-clear; no injuries
Exact Belmont Alerts wording was not recoverable, so the evacuation and all-clear alerts are honestly marked reconstructed
Outcome
Piedmont Natural Gas shut off the damaged line around 10:40 a.m. CDT and, by about 10:50 a.m., the Nashville Fire Department was bleeding off residual gas. The one-block evacuation, including near-campus buildings around the Troutt Theater, was lifted. No injuries were reported.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Major gas leak reported near Belmont University campus Tuesday morning - NewsChannel 5
    newschannel5.com
  2. News
    Major gas leak stopped near Belmont University campus, Fire Department gives all clear - WKRN
    wkrn.com
  3. News
    Construction crew causes major gas leak near Belmont University, prompts evacuations - FOX 17
    fox17.com
  4. Official
    Belmont Alerts - Belmont University
    belmont.edu
Tags
gas-leaktennesseenashvilleprivate-universityconstructionevacuationemergency-notification
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion