8 people hospitalized after explosion at Denver assisted living home [Video]

DENVER — Eight people were hospitalized after an explosion inside an assisted living facility in Denver, and nearly 90 people have been displaced.

The Denver Fire Department (DFD) said it responded to a structure fire around Quebec Street and High Line Smith Way, the department posted on social media around 11:30 a.m. This is just north of the intersection of E. Yale Avenue and S. Quebec Street.

Firefighters found that a transformer had caught fire near the Eastern Star Masonic Retirement Campus but the flames had not reached the building, which is a large nursing and assisted living facility.

An explosion was reported inside the building, the DFD said.

Luis Cedillo, a captain with the DFD, said construction was underway at the time and there is a “high probability” that it could be related, but that remain speculation until arson investigators make a final determination. Shortly afterward, the DFD confirmed that during construction work Wednesday, “a …