The Red, White & Blue Fire Protection District finished its investigation into a refrigerant leak that caused the evacuation of the City Market in Breckenridge on Monday, July 28, according to Jay Nelson, the fire department’s CEO and fire marshal.

Nelson wrote in an email to Summit Daily that the leak came from “a failure of piping in the compressor room,” and the investigation found that it was an accidental leak, meaning there is no suspicion of criminal activity.

The fire department responded to a call about an “explosion” at City Market just after 1 p.m. July 28. Refrigerant leaks can displace oxygen in a space, necessitating the evacuation. 

Responders ventilated the store, and it was safe to reenter around 3 p.m. Nelson said July 28 that nobody was put at risk by the leak, as workers and customers evacuated in a timely manner and “pretty low levels” of refrigerant had leaked.