If you were enjoying the brisk day outside on Wednesday (February 8) afternoon, you may have heard a loud booming noise or maybe even felt the ground rock. Many people near Franklin were shocked to hear the boom split the otherwise quiet afternoon, and at least one school was forced to shelter in place as a result.
The Franklin Fire Department confirmed that the boom heard and felt was a planned blast at the Williamson County quarry, near Downs Boulevard and Columbia Avenue, that was "much larger than expected," per FOX 17. In fact, many people in the Franklin and Cool Springs area of Middle Tennessee felt the effects of the blast; however, no injuries have been reported at this time.
The magnitude of the explosion was no unexpected that Franklin Elementary School had to briefly shelter in place as a precaution due to some debris from the blast falling. The district eventually cleared the school to resume normal operations after determining there was no danger, adding in a statement that the shelter in place lasted about 5 minutes until they got the "all-clear" from the Williamson County Sheriff's Office, per WSMV.
"Because this blast felt very different from the routine blasts we sometimes hear, we advised our teachers and students to shelter in place today until we could determine that there was no danger of recurring blasts or debris," the statement said, in part.
The Tennessee State Fire Marshal's Office will investigate the incident.