Fire burns at old Kraft plant in Pocatello

Crews are still investigating a rail car business at the former Kraft plant in Pocatello caught fire Saturday.

Pocatello Fire Department battalion chief Ron Davies said the fire started around 6:15 p.m. and was mostly contained around 5 a.m. Sunday.

“We are now in the process of making sure the fire is completely out and we can get investigators in there to pick through it and hopefully they can figure out what the cause was,” Davies said.

He said fire crews and investigators will be working on scene until Monday morning to find a cause.

He said crews were able to save the majority of the building where most of the rail work was done from fire damage.

“The crews did a really good job of protecting the section of where they were doing most of their work and where they had the most valuable equipment, so while a major portion of the building was lost, we were able to save some important areas as well,” Davies added.

Davies said fortunately nobody was inside during the time the fire started, but building owners said on Saturday night they suspect the fire could have started by people who broke into the empty building at night.

The family of Clark Beck, who owns Idaho Rail Shop, said inside the business are paint, paint thinner, welding supplies and fertilizer.

Because the fire did not pose as a threat to any of the nearby homes, neighbors did not have to evacuate.

Lt. Paul Manning saidthe roads were blocked on Kraft Road and West Alameda while the fire was burning.