Explosion reported at gas plant in Tennessee; evacuation ordered near facility

Published: Aug. 18, 2023 at 10:56 AM EDT|Updated: Aug. 18, 2023 at 1:19 PM EDT
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CENTERVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV/Gray News) – Emergency crews responded Friday morning to an explosion at a gas plant in Hickman County.

The explosion was reported at about 8:30 a.m. at the Tennessee Gas Pipeline facility located at 2775 Highway 48. The fire has since been contained.

Emergency officials said one person was injured in the incident but not due to the explosion.

A mandatory evacuation has been issued for a mile-radius around the facility.

An explosion and fire happened at a compressor station due to an equipment failure, Kinder Morgan said. The company said it plans to investigate what caused the equipment to fail.

Multiple Hickman County agencies responded to the explosion, as well as the Nashville Fire Department at the request of the Tennessee Emergency Management agency.

SR 48 will be closed from Nunnelly to State Route 100 as emergency crews respond to the scene, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

“This could have been much worse,” Hickman County Emergency Manager Amanda Seigel. “We’re thankful there weren’t more injuries.”

Crews were still working to extinguish a small fire around noon, but there were no air quality concerns, she said.

It wasn’t clear when residents would be able to return to their homes, she said.