Greenback School is set to be closed through Friday, according to the director's office.

County Purchasing Agent Leo Bradshaw outlined the series of events last week when people at the school reported smelling gas. Bradshaw said that after inspections and a certain amount of "panic" about the possibility of a gas leak, "no actual leak was detected"  but he recommended a "third party" inspect the gas lines to determine if there is a problem. 

After a long discussion about whether or not there had been gas leaks, board member Gary Ubben said the important thing is that there is "a perception of a safety problem" and it was important to reassure parents their children are safe at Greenback School. He alluded to the ongoing debate about whether or not to build a new school in Greenback but said regardless of the building debate such a serious problem as potential gas leaks needs to be fixed. 

Board Chairman Scott Newman referred the question of whether or not there had been actual gas leaks to Ron Jones, Tennessee fire marshal, who was in the audience. "Yes there were gas leaks," Jones told the board adding that he had been at the school more than an hour after the initial reports and there was still gas present. 

Board member Bill Marcus said the board should immediately close Greenback School until the students' safety could be ensured.

"I'm not for letting kids go there one more day," Marcus told the board.  The board quickly moved to an emergency called meeting with Greenback School Board representative Lisa Russell suggesting the board close the school the next day with "no time limit" until the safety issues could be resolved. Marcus moved to do just that with Russell seconding the motion. 

Greenback Principal Joey Breedlove was in the audience when he was asked if he could effect the school's closure overnight.

"I can do whatever you tell me to do," Breedlove replied and asked how long he could expect the school to be closed.  Bradshaw estimated it would take "two or three" days on site for the inspections to be complete and the rest would depend on what was found. The board then voted with all in favor of the closure, which will forbid any activity on campus. "Thanks to all of you for that," Russell said.

Marcus concluded that the important thing was not having to "ask a parent to forgive me because their kid went to school and got hurt."

Tuesday afternoon a group of officials arrived at Greenback School to tackle the problem of gas leaks. The county school board closed the school indefinitely due to a series of gas leaks that have forced the school to be evacuated several times in recent weeks. 

Bradshaw, Russell, Breedlove, Loudon County Director of Schools Wayne Honeycutt, Assistant Director Jason Vance, Greenback Mayor Tom Peeler, Greenback Fire Chief Ronnie Lett, mechanical engineer Greg Farmer, State Fire Marshal Mark Boyd, Deputy State Fire Marshal Ron Jones and others came to the school to discuss a game plan for solving the problem of the leaks. 

Bradshaw lead the meeting, first asking the fire marshal what he is looking for in the process. Boyd said he wants to know what is causing the leaks and when the school will be safe. Bradshaw said the best idea would be to have gas detectors tied to the schools fire alarm system. When working out how many senors would be needed, Lett estimated there should be one in every classroom. 

Bradshaw asked Farmer, who works for the engineering firm Hodge Associates, if he had any idea "how much this will cost and how quickly we can get this done." 

Farmer said it was his first time at the school and he "couldn't commit to any time frame" until he knew more. He estimated it would take a week for the entire school to be looked over then at least another week before the final report could be prepared. Bradshaw asked if Framer's firm could avail themselves of more resources and possibly "speed that up." Framer said it was possible. 

Bradshaw told him it was important for the school to be opened within a week.

"I don't know what kind of tiger we have by the tail," Farmer said adding it would depend on how much of the natural gas piping is concealed and hard to access. He estimated that 80 percent of the gas lines are exposed and 20 percent are concealed. 

Farmer then questioned the group about the school's recent conversion from propane to natural gas noting that the same pipes are being used, adding that reusing the pipes is usually a problem.  

Lett noted his department uses two devices to check for gas leaks one a leak detector and the other a device that measures PPM (parts per million) of gas in the air. Lett said the scale on the device is 1-10 with 10 denoting the air is explosive. He said people react when there is a "smell or the meter goes up" but thus far it had never reached a 10. He also said since the pipes being used are 30 years old he feared rust might be breaking loose in the pipes and clogging the valves. 

"I'm not sold it's a pipe problem," Farmer said noting the gas is under very little pressure in the pipes. He also said he would like to see a section of pipe, which Bradshaw said could be arranged.

The inspection of Greenback School should continue for at least two days until the engineers and fire marshals can determine what could be causing the gas leaks and how they can be fixed. The school will remain closed until fire officials are satisfied the building is safe.