NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Early mornings at Richard Gillaspie’s home are usually peaceful, until recently.
“We’re just not used to hearing explosions that early in the morning,” said Gillaspie. “I was sitting at the computer kind of starting my morning ritual and all of the sudden I heard this bang and Teresa, my wife, was getting ready for work and she come out of the bathroom, ‘what was that?’”
He along with others in the West Nashville area claim they heard an explosion from the Southern Recycling facility last week at 5 a.m.
"So when it happened again this last week I was like 'ok this is ridiculous'," said resident Kayla Hill. She said last week was the third time since April she was awoken by the noise.
She has made several complaints to the fire marshal.
“We’re worried about our safety and the neighborhood’s safety, not just the structure of our homes and the integrity of our foundation,” said Hill.
A Metro Fire official says the explosion sound could be the result of things unknowingly left inside vehicles or piles of metal containing propane tanks that are compacted.
“The fire marshal indicated in May when it happened that they actually shut them down for a while, that they couldn’t reopen until they had a corrective action plan,” said Hill.
The Fire Marshal’s Office said it has met with Southern Recycling employees and a corrective plan was submitted by the facility.
“At least limit their operating hours to a reasonable time frame,” said Gillaspie.
Now residents just hope that plan is followed, and they can get some sleep.
NewsChannel 5 has reached out to Southern Recycling for this story but have not yet heard back. Meanwhile, the Fire Marshal's office said it will check the site weekly to make sure their corrective action plan is being followed.
