Pocatello Fire Department act swiftly in Monday’s fire

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - The Pocatello Fire Department had quite an eventful day on Monday.

A brush fire formed quickly alongside Alvin Ricken Drive in Pocatello. The flames moved along I-15, threatening campus facilities on the east side of the interstate. The fire crew responded in a swift manner.

"The key is always getting them when they're small, because the bigger head of steam they get, the harder they are to put out," said Pocatello Fire Chief David Gates. "We got there pretty quickly." 

Chief Gates could not confirm the cause of the fire, but did say it may ave originated from a vehicle.

"The fact that we had two separate starts 200 yards apart kind of would indicate that direction," Gates said. " It was likely not a cigarette, and likely came off the interstate somehow." 

In response to the fire, ISU students and faculty evacuated from the facilities closest to the fire's path.

"The safety of our Bengal community is always our number one priority, and yesterday's decision to evacuate took that into consideration," said ISU Associate Vice President Stuart Summers. "That was our number one reason for evacuating the Eames complex and then the subsequent two other facilities."

ISU reported no major damage to its facilities. There were no reported injuries.