NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Nashville family displaced by high methane gas levels is finally heading home after nearly a week of living out of hotels and an Airbnb.
Chris Parker and his family — including two dogs, a 5-week-old baby and a toddler — were forced to evacuate in the middle of the night after fire crews detected high levels of methane gas in their home early Saturday morning. The family lives just a few feet from a nearby construction site, and the gas was discovered a couple of days after blasting took place at the site last week.
"There's so much unknown and if it's not safe for our children, obviously we don't want to be there," Parker said.
The family first went to a hotel for a few days, then an Airbnb.
Chris Parker said he had been frustrated by a lack of communication from the builder of the construction project, their HOA and the Nashville Fire Department about what was happening.
However, Thursday afternoon brought some good news.
According to a press release from the Nashville Fire Department, the construction project's contractor and the community's developer worked to dig a trench to help vent the gas.
Hours later, the Nashville Fire Department said there were significant improvements in gas levels both outside and inside the homes that had been evacuated and gave the all-clear for residents to return.
Before that, the Parker's had no idea they'd be able to safely return.
"Quite frankly we don't know when we'll be back home," Parker said earlier Thursday, before the all-clear was issued.
Because their children are so young, the Parkers said they plan to stay one more night in a hotel and hoped the Nashville Fire Department would return to read gas levels again after a night of keeping their windows closed at their home.
The family also received some additional good news: their community's developer has offered to help cover the costs of nearly a week in hotels and an Airbnb.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
