{"id":4002,"date":"2012-06-21T11:36:10","date_gmt":"2012-06-21T15:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=4002"},"modified":"2012-06-21T11:36:10","modified_gmt":"2012-06-21T15:36:10","slug":"sheriff-reports-having-a-blast-in-nashville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=4002","title":{"rendered":"Sheriff reports having ‘a blast in Nashville’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Annual conference interrupted by gas explosion<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\nBy Kathleen Brady Shea<\/strong>, Managing Editor, The KennettTimes.com<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Emergency personnel react to an explosion at Nashville’s Opryland Hotel \u2014 which happened to be hosting National Sheriffs\u2019 Association meeting, including Chester County Sheriff Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh, who shot this image and the accompanying videos.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The 2012 four-day Conference and Exhibition of the National Sheriffs\u2019 Association in Nashville touted its versatile location, a complex of dining, shopping, entertainment, and \u201clate-night excitement.”<\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

Attendees got their fill of the latter, according to Chester County Sheriff Carolyn \u201cBunny\u201d Welsh.<\/p>\n

Welsh, who attended the convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center with Lt. John Freas and Deputy Harry McKinney, said they were having dinner Tuesday night about 8:15 when the glass of a nearby solarium started rattling and they heard an explosion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis gives new meaning to having a blast in Nashville,\u201d she said.\"\"<\/p>\n

Welsh said she could joke about the incident because about 5,000 people staying at the Opryland Hotel were safely and efficiently evacuated.\u00a0\u201cThe timing was unbelievable,\u201d she said, explaining that the area where the blast occurred had been crowded with people about five hours earlier.<\/p>\n

Welsh said it probably helped that many of the evacuees were trained emergency responders. Besides sheriff\u2019s departments, she said the conference draws U.S. Marshalls and representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement.<\/p>\n

Video from the scene, as shot by Welsh:<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n