Pocatello firefighters burn house for training

A house burned on the 600 block of Park Avenue in Pocatello on Thursday, and the fire department started the fire.

It was part of its Burn and Learn program.

Anytime a resident donates a property to the fire department to use, firefighters use it to practice real-life fire drills.

Firefighters from Pocatello and Chubbuck participated in the drill.

They said this is a good thing for folks in Pocatello as it helps the firefighters train in a realistic situation.

“I know this is a slight inconvenience for some people every time we do a burn, but this is the only way we have to practice under controlled conditions and become better firefighters,” said PFD Assistant Fire Chief Tom Sanford.

They set more than eight smaller fires in various parts of the house before they practiced an abandon-building drill and let the house burn down.