A hazmat response sent crews to the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Littleton. The incident unfolded at the movie theater and taproom tucked inside the Aspen Grove shopping center along Santa Fe Drive, a retail corridor well known to south metro Denver residents.
KDVR reported a hazmat response at the Alamo Drafthouse in Littleton, according to KDVR.
The theater sits at 7301 S. Santa Fe Drive, Unit #850, inside the open-air Aspen Grove center, according to the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Aspen Grove is a major retail destination with more than 50 stores and restaurants spread across the Santa Fe Drive corridor. The complex includes over 260,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and sits near the region's light rail line and commuter route, as Colorado Community Media has reported.
Who Responds to Hazmat Calls in Littleton
Fire protection and hazardous materials response in Littleton fall to South Metro Fire Rescue, a regional district that operates 30 stations across a 287-square-mile service area covering more than 540,000 residents in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, per Wikipedia.
The nearest first-responder coverage for downtown Littleton and the Aspen Grove area comes from South Metro Fire Rescue Station 11 on West Berry Avenue, which previously served as headquarters for the old Littleton Fire Rescue before the 2019 merger, 5280Fire reports. For larger or more complex hazardous materials calls, the district also maintains a specialized Hazardous Materials Team of 57 certified technicians who train monthly and operate dedicated apparatus, including units known as Hazmat 17 and Hazmat 38, the same outlet notes.
A Corridor With Recent Hazmat History
This is not the first time South Metro Fire Rescue has sent hazmat resources to the Santa Fe Drive corridor near Littleton. In April, the district deployed a full hazardous materials team, including Hazmat 17 and Hazmat 38, to a commercial fuel tanker fire along S. Santa Fe Drive near W. Chenango Avenue, with firefighters monitoring runoff to protect the nearby South Platte River, according to 5280Fire's coverage of that incident. Earlier this month, the department's Hazmat Team also responded to a separate regional incident involving an electric vehicle battery thermal runaway, which prompted a temporary shelter-in-place notice for residents within a half-mile radius due to toxic gas concerns, South Metro Fire Rescue said in a social media post.
The Alamo Drafthouse Littleton location operates a full-service kitchen alongside its own bar, the Glass Half Full Taproom, delivering food and drinks directly into its auditoriums, according to Visit Littleton Colorado. The venue drew local attention earlier this year when Hoodline reported plans for a theater renaming and celebration honoring actress Pam Grier.
What Remains Unknown
Beyond confirmation that an all clear was issued, the precise cause of the hazmat response, which rooms or equipment may have been involved, and what evacuation steps were taken had not been released in the initial reporting. Aspen Grove itself has been the subject of longer-term planning conversations unrelated to this incident; the Littleton City Council approved a master plan amendment in November 2021 allowing the property's owner, the Gerrity Group, to pursue mixed-use redevelopment with residential buildings ranging from 30 to 85 feet tall, according to Colorado Homes We Sell. Hoodline will update this story as more information becomes available.
