Denver Fire Chief Eric Tade was stabbed Tuesday afternoon just outside of his department’s headquarters at Colfax Avenue and Speer Boulevard.

Investigators said a woman jumped into Tade’s unmarked city SUV as it was stopped and attacked him. Doug Schepman, a police spokesman, declined to speculate on what spurred the stabbing.

“At this time, we don’t know what the motive was,” Schepman told reporters.

Tade was taken to Denver Health in fair condition with wounds to his hand and leg. Officials said he is in good spirits and is expected to make a full recovery. He was released from the hospital Tuesday evening and is recovering at home.

Police identified the woman arrested in the 1:30 p.m. attack as 42-year-old Marlene Zacevich-Rodriguez. She is suspected of aggravated assault. Police recovered her knife.

“We had some witnesses on the scene that pointed us in the direction of a female suspect,” Schepman said. “We’re trying to piece together whether or not there is a connection between the victim and the suspect.”

Officers flooded the scene after the stabbing, cordoning off a large swath of the intersection at Colfax and Speer — including the fire station — in crime scene tape.

Investigators were focusing on two scenes, split between the fire department headquarters and where Tade’s black Ford Explorer came to a rest on Colfax after the attack.

Police said Tade hurried into the fire headquarters for help after being attacked, leaving a trail of blood droplets on the sidewalk.

“Thoughts and prayers with Chief Tade and his family right now,” Mayor Michael Hancock tweeted.

Tade, a second-generation firefighter, has worked for the city’s fire department for 24 years, including the past six as chief. His office is in the fire station about a half-block from where he was attacked.

Melissa Taylor, spokeswoman for Denver fire, said a department-wide bulletin about the stabbing was issued.

Rich Castro was walking through the intersection when he saw Tade’s SUV slowly rolling down Colfax with no one inside. The vehicle’s doors were ajar.

Castro then saw a man heading toward the fire station.

“It looked like he was holding his arm,” Castro said. “It just looked like a movie.”

Zacevich-Rodriguez has an arrest record in the state dating to 1995, according to Colorado Bureau of Investigation data.

She was arrested in Denver in 1995 on suspicion of domestic violence and disturbing the peace. The outcome of that case was not immediately available.

Zacevich-Rodriguez did plead guilty to misdemanor assault in Aurora in 2000. She also pleaded guilty in 2005 to domestic violence and obstruction of a court order stemming from a 2002 Aurora case.

In 2009, she was arrested in Denver on misdemeanor charges of disturbing the peace, assault and trespassing. The outcome of that case was not immediately available.

Denver Post Staff Writer Kieran Nicholson contributed to this report.

Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or @JesseAPaul