Campus Safety and Public Health

Milligan University in Elizabethton, Tennessee, evacuated its Steve Lacy Fieldhouse on Wednesday morning after discovering a carbon monoxide leak that ultimately led to more than 200 people being evaluated and treated across six Ballad Health hospitals. The university says the source of the leak was identified and repaired and that gas levels have returned to normal, but has acknowledged that multiple carbon monoxide detectors in the fieldhouse failed to alarm and is now investigating why. Additional detectors have been installed in the building, and Milligan is testing all carbon monoxide detectors campus‑wide while a mechanical contractor and the local fire department conduct a thorough inspection before the facility reopens. Ballad Health activated its corporate emergency operations center to manage what it called a "mass event," deploying an emergency physician to campus for on‑site triage and providing oxygen therapy and monitoring for those with significant exposure. The incident highlights both the dangers of carbon monoxide—a colorless, odorless gas that can cause loss of consciousness and death—and potential weaknesses in life‑safety systems that universities and other institutions across the U.S. rely on.