Latest news with #MatthewLupo
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Speaking with officials about fire safety following Gallatin home explosion
GALLATIN, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Gallatin home exploded Thursday morning, sending shrapnel flying through the neighborhood and leaving one person injured. Though the cause of the blast — which neighbors likened to an 'earthquake' — is still under investigation, some witnesses worry that it was caused by a gas leak. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation by the Gallatin Fire Department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. ORIGINAL STORY | 'Felt like an earthquake': 1 injured after explosion destroys Gallatin home Matthew Lupo, fire chief for Nolensville Fire & Rescue, said the department isn't working the case, but said that companies add a sulfur smell to natural gas and propane for safety reasons. Otherwise they're odorless. If you do smell a rotten egg smell, he has some tips. 'First, evacuate the house. Don't flip any switches on the way out,' Lupo said. 'Just get out. If you know where the shut-offs are for your propane tanks or where your gas is fed in through the meter, you can shut those off. [A fire] could be triggered by anything from light switches to electronics — anything that can create static electricity or a little spark. Don't be afraid to call 911. ⏩ 'We would rather get there and have it be something simple and resolve the issue real quickly than it turn out to be a big event because and we're not called out in time,' Lupo said. Lupo added that carbon monoxide alarms don't pick up on natural gas or propane leaks. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Nolensville town leaders try to keep up with population growth
NOLENSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — What was once a town of 5,861 people in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, has nearly tripled in size. Now, data from the Nolensville special census shows the certified population for the town in 2024 was 16,836. 'We've got quite a bit of development coming in, as well, so we're trying to keep up with that,' Matthew Lupo, interim fire chief for Nolensville Fire and Rescue, told News 2. The department currently has 14 of its 17 positions filled and is looking to add another three positions to serve the town's growing population. Volunteer organization building homes for disaster victims in Clarksville 'We're playing a little catch up, but the fire department really just started, the municipal side of it started in 2021, so it's fairly new. We've kind of just purchased all our own equipment and [are] just trying to keep up with the growth,' Lupo added. Fire officials said the department averages about four calls for service per day but has been stretched thin a few times in the past. 'One day in, I guess it was 2022, it was a winter day, we had 85 calls in a day, so that's very unusual. We don't get that, but it happens,' Lupo explained. Nolensville Fire and Rescue is also working to build another station on the south side of town. ⏩ 'We'll have one on the north side, one on the south side,' Lupo told News 2. 'We've got it in our five-year plan to hopefully start design work on that second station so we can keep up with the needs of the town and the fire department.' In the 2025 Nolensville Annual Address on Tuesday, April 29, leaders discussed other operational obstacles, like the sewer system nearing capacity and the need for more police officers. News 2 reached out to Nolensville Town Manager Victor Lay, who sent the following statement: Like all of the mid-state, Nolensville is experiencing operational challenges due to the significant growth that has occurred in and around our community from roads to public services. The board of commissioners is evaluating a five-year plan that addresses that growth and would establish priority projects along with the appropriate level of services desired for the community. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
