On Thursday, Fire Station No. 1 and the nearby U.S. Post Office on Beechcroft
Road were briefly evacuated this afternoon , and the road temporarily closed, while authorities investigated wired blasting caps that were brought to the fire station.
A caretaker of a Spring Hill residence found a box of old , construction-grade
blasting caps on a shelf in the basementof the home, where he has worked for
23 years. He said the caps were at least that old. After discovering the blasting caps, he put them in the back of his pickup truck and drove them to the fire station for disposal, said Spring Hill Fire Chief Terry Hood.
Because authorities were concerned with the age and potential explosive sensitivity of the blasting caps,Spring Hill Fire and Police blocked Beechcroft Road and evacuated the Post Office and Fire Station. The Tennessee Highway Patrol’s Bomb Squad was called in to dispose of the explosives, which were detonated without incident behind the fire station.
The incident occurred between noon and 3 p.m., when the evacuation was called off and the road was reopened.
Blasting caps and other explosives should always be reported to local authorities for proper disposal, but explosives should never be touched or moved, said Chief Hood. Blasting caps, in particular, arehighly sensitive, and moving them could potentially detonate the caps.