Nashville fire in the Nations: Crews battle gas leak, blaze; 1 hurt

Crews battled a large fire that was sparked by a gas leak and injured a construction worker Friday, according to the Nashville Fire Department.

Flames were shooting nearly two stories high as crews worked to contain the blaze. A ruptured gas main sparked the fire at a construction site at the intersection of Centennial Boulevard and California Avenue, NFD said. The injured worker was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

NFD crews who were nearby heard a loud bang just before 12 p.m. and "self dispatched" to the scene, according to spokesperson Kendra Loney. According to 911 callers, someone was on fire and rolling around in the street, Loney said. She did not comment on the extent of the worker's injuries, but said one worker had burns on his hands.

Crews were working in a manhole to connect a four-inch gas main when the gas ignited and the line ruptured, Loney said.

Around 12:30 p.m., officials put up caution tape to keep people clear of the area. Heat could be felt from at least a half block away. Centennial Boulevard was partially closed off as of 12:45 p.m.

"We have a water curtain from our engine in place to protect the surrounding structures," NFD tweeted just before 1 p.m. "When we respond to natural gas incidents water is not going to extinguish the fire. The fire is actually burning off the leaking natural gas, which is helpful."

Around 250 power outages were reported in the area as the fire burned, according to a Nashville Electric Service map. Crews from NES and Piedmont Gas were both on hand.

The fire was out by 2 p.m. as Piedmont continued to work on the scene, NFD said. Power outages were fully restored as of 2:30 p.m.

From April:Train wreck triggers fuel spill, evacuations in The Nations

A strip of businesses are located near the site of the fire, which is in The Nations neighborhood, including several coffee shops and restaurants. A Marathon petroleum farm is also in the area.

Daddy's Dogs, a hot dog shop, decided to close after their utilities were cut off while crews worked to contain the fire, manager Tony Sherman said. He was pulling into a parking lot when he first saw the blaze.

"I saw a giant fireball," he said.

The flames seemed to get smaller at one point, before growing again, Sherman said.

F45 Training, a fitness center and gym, evacuated because of the fire around 11:55 a.m., according to general manager Molly Bellamy.

"We had about five minutes left in a class when we heard a loud noise and could smell gas," Bellamy said. "We saw the orange and the flames and evacuated."

Urban Sweat, which offers infrared saunas, also evacuated.

It's not the first time the busy neighborhood has seen evacuations in recent months. In April, a train traveling at a low speed collided with a tanker truck carrying ethanol near 51st Avenue North and Centennial Boulevard. The wreck triggered a fuel spill and sent the pungent smell of ethanol into the air. Ethanol is extreme flammable and combustible, so NFD cleared buildings within a one-block radius while hazardous materials crews worked to clean up the spill. Nobody was hurt.