DENVER — One person was injured and eight units were displaced after an explosion at a fourplex in Denver's Washington Park West neighborhood Thursday evening.
Denver Fire Department crews were dispatched around 6:06 p.m. to reports of an explosion in the 400 block of South Lincoln Street. Three units from the fourplex were directly impacted.
One person was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, according to Captain JD Chism, public information officer with Denver Fire. Residents were in the building at the time of the explosion, but everyone has been accounted for, Chism told media crews.
First responders at the scene told Denver7 one dog was rescued, but another was found deceased.
A neighbor says her 4-year-old cat, Kita, has not been found since the explosion. He is pretty friendly/ not skittish, though he may be now, his mom told Denver7. He has a gray bow tie collar, but he recently pulled his tag off. Kita is microchipped.
If you do find Kita, please bring him to the Denver Animal Shelter.
Xcel Energy shut off power and gas to the structure. Investigators will return to the scene in the morning to begin their work.
Chism said the department can't say what caused the explosion at this time. Fire crews used thermal imaging cameras and meters to check for gas. A drone team also responded to the scene to help with the investigation.
The building to the south of the fourplex was also impacted by the explosion. It is unclear at this time if residents will be allowed back in the building, Chism said.
Neighbors in the surrounding area do not need to be concerned, Chism said Thursday evening. He said residents up and down South Lincoln will experience gas and power outages.
“We won't leave the scene until we search and get our meters into some of the adjacent buildings to make sure that there's no gas and there's no hazards," Chism said.
A total of eight units were displaced by the explosion. The Red Cross is connecting affected residents with housing.
Denver Fire has turned the scene over to the Denver Police Department and the city's building department.
