Students at East Ridge High School were evacuated on Wednesday, around 9:30 a.m., when the East Ridge Police Department’s school resource officer was notified of a gas leak on the school grounds.
Hamilton County Board of Education maintenance personnel were in the process of repairing a water line when a natural gas line was ruptured. The leak was outside the building but near the rear of the structure. The gas was shut off, and the school was evacuated as a precaution.
The East Ridge Fire Department responded and took natural gas readings from inside the school building. Multiple rooms were found to have high concentrations of natural gas. This was attributed to the air conditioning units for rooms near the leak having drawn the gas inside the building. ERFD ventilated the rooms that had elevated levels of gas.
The ruptured gas line was repaired, and the students returned to classes by approximately 10 a.m.