According to the Denver Fire Department, a “significant” fire broke out at Empower Field at Mile High, the home of the Denver Broncos. The fire started at around 2:15 p.m. local time on Thursday near the club level of the stadium.
Around seventy-five firefighters responded to the blaze, which was quickly extinguished. No injuries were reported, though a group touring the stadium was forced to evacuate when the blaze ignited.
The fire began on the fourth level in the club suites and spread to the third level, where it burned two sections of stadium seats. According to stadium officials, the area where the fire began was a construction zone. An eyewitness video provided to Ivan Rodriguez of The Denver Channel shows a single stadium seat on the third level burning before the fire quickly grew. Thick, black smoke from the fire could be seen across the city.
The official cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but unconfirmed reports indicate that the crew working in the suites may have accidentally started the blaze.
Public information officer Chris Pixley with the DFD said the thick smoke was caused by the type of plastic the seats are made from. The total amount of damage has not been disclosed, but fire investigators continue to check that structural parts of the stadium were not damaged.
Pixley said that fire control sprinklers were able to prevent the fire from quickly spreading until crews arrived onsite. The DFD reported that the fire was extinguished at 2:43 p.m. MT. Photographs and videos taken at the scene show that the fire engulfed about 1,000 square feet of space and heavily damaged both the third-level seating area and the suites on the fourth level.
“We were sitting there and looking out, and we could see one chair on fire and there was no one in the area,” eyewitness Richard Steffens said to CBS News reporting from the stadium.
Paul Hemenway also witnessed the start of the fire while attending an event at the stadium.
“We were out there taking video, photos, trying to figure out how serious this is going to get, and then it just went nuts,” Hemenway said.
The full extent of the damage has yet to be disclosed, and fire crews are expected to continue to ensure that there is no longer a risk of fire at the facility.
Empower Field at Mile High opened in 2011 and replaced the old Mile High Stadium that was located just adjacent to the new facility. During its demolition, the old Mile High Stadium also experienced a fire, which was caused by a worker who accidentally ignited stadium seating while using a cutting torch.
Pixley said that investigators are looking into whether windy conditions contributed to the rapid spread of the fire, along with how the petroleum-based construction of the seats may have been a factor.
The next event scheduled at Empower Field is Monster Jam, currently booked for the weekend of April 23. Stadium officials have not said whether the fire damage will affect that or any other event.
