Smoke causes evacuation of Pocatello office building

The Pocatello Fire Department was responding to a call for an elevator rescue at the Center 151 building when crews noticed “light smoke” throughout the building’s second floor, around 10 a.m. Monday.

The origin of the smoke was unknown at the time so the crews began a partial evacuation of the building “just for purposes of safety,” Assistant Chief Travis Smith said.

The building was eventually completely evacuated, aside from a handful of maintenance workers and business owners who were taking firefighters around the facility.

At approximately 11 a.m., Smith said crews felt there was no active fire and no one was in harm’s way.

The cause of the smoke was later determined to be an HVAC motor that had blown out, and people were allowed to return to work soon after.

The department confirmed no one was injured.