At least 7 critically injured in explosion, fire at Denver retirement campus

At least seven people were critically injured in an explosion and fire at Eastern Star Masonic Retirement Campus in southeast Denver on Wednesday, including broken bones, burns and smoke inhalation, hospital officials said Friday.

The explosion and fire sent 10 people to the hospital and displaced 87 residents from the community’s assisted living and memory care units after construction workers hit a power line near the center of the main building, fire officials said.

The Denver Fire Department initially reported eight people were hospitalized but that number grew to 10 people by the end of the day, Capt. Luis Cedillo said.

State investigators are still looking into the incident and cannot comment on potential criminal charges, Colorado Division of Fire Prevention & Control officials said in an email Friday.

“It is also too early to determine when the building may be reoccupied,” state fire officials said in a statement. “We can’t make a determination until a building inspector can complete a full inspection of the property.”

HCA HealthONE Swedish treated seven patients with critical injuries ranging from pelvic and spinal fractures to burns and inhalation injuries, said Morgan Jared, director of the hospital’s emergency department.

Three people were still hospitalized Friday but were in good condition and expected to fully recover, Jared said. The other four have already been discharged.

Swedish cannot say whether those treated were Eastern Star staff, residents or construction workers because of privacy laws, Jared said.

The hospital also took in six Eastern Star residents displaced by the fire, but they were taken to other community facilities within 24 hours.

While it’s not unusual for Swedish to see severe injuries as a Level 1 trauma center, Jared said treating seven critically injured people at once is out of the ordinary. Even with the sudden influx, every patient was evaluated and had a treatment plan within 33 minutes.

Swedish’s quick response was “everything the director of the emergency department could hope for,” Jared said.

Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.