{
  "id": "2025-11-24-university-of-tennessee-at-chattanooga-palmetto-gas-leak",
  "slug": "university-of-tennessee-at-chattanooga-palmetto-gas-leak-2025-11-24",
  "institution": {
    "name": "University of Tennessee at Chattanooga",
    "shortName": "UTC",
    "state": "TN",
    "type": "public-r2",
    "alertSystemName": "UTC-Alert",
    "enrollment": 11400
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2025-11-24",
    "type": "gas-leak",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "resolved",
    "headline": "Gas line strike brings a short evacuation",
    "headlinePublic": "Gas line strike brings a short evacuation",
    "summary": "An unmarked gas main was struck beside the health-sciences project. The Challenger STEM Learning Center was [evacuated](https://www.utc.edu/finance-and-administration/department-of-public-safety/alerts-status), then people returned after the gas was shut off.",
    "outcome": "People returned to the building. Repair work was underway."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2025-11-24T10:45:00-05:00",
      "channel": "website",
      "verbatimText": "UTC Community:\n\nAs part of the ongoing construction project for the Dorothy and Jim Kennedy Health Sciences Building, an unmarked gas line was inadvertently struck at approximately 9:45 AM today. The UTC Police Department (UTCPD), UTC Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), Chattanooga Fire Department (CFD), and UTC Facilities Planning and Management (FPM) immediately responded to assess the situation. Due to the proximity of the damaged line—a large main line—to the Challenger STEM Learning Center, a temporary evacuation of that facility was conducted out of an abundance of caution.\n\nChattanooga Gas arrived on site at approximately 10:30 AM to shut off the gas, after which all individuals were able to return to the Challenger STEM Learning Center. Repair work on the affected gas line is currently underway.\n\nThank you for your understanding as safety personnel and utility crews worked to resolve the situation quickly and safely.\n\nMessage issued on 11/24/2025 at 10:45 AM",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "confidence": "high",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.utc.edu/finance-and-administration/department-of-public-safety/alerts-status",
      "sourceDescription": "UTC-ALERT status archive",
      "annotations": [
        "Dual fetch of the alerts-status page on 2026-10-12. After scripts and Cloudflare email hashes are removed, both copies of this message match.",
        "The issued line gives the minute. Seconds are not in that line.",
        "993 characters. sha256 36279a5f9cfe9fa9093b3a20ad704c39de894a0caf035276acc1f300b1b82237.",
        "SPN not attempted at 10:15Z"
      ],
      "characterCount": 993
    }
  ],
  "context": "One incident update on the UTC-ALERT status archive. It is the copy that contains both the evacuation and the return.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "The Challenger STEM Learning Center was evacuated because of a struck main.",
    "Chattanooga Gas shut the line off at about 10:30 a.m."
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "UTC-ALERT status archive",
      "url": "https://www.utc.edu/finance-and-administration/department-of-public-safety/alerts-status",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "accessDate": "2026-10-12",
      "archiveUrl": null,
      "archiveNotes": "SPN not attempted at 10:15Z"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "public-r2",
    "tennessee",
    "gas-leak"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-10-12",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-10-12",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}