The self-contained breathing apparatus is a vital life safety tool that protects firefighters from a multitude of hazardous situations in the field – from structure fires to carbon monoxide incidents. Each apparatus is mounted with brackets into fire trucks, which secures the device while firefighters are responding to calls and gives them mobility when the breathing apparatus is not in use.

The fire department is currently in the process of replacing all existing apparatus with new, upgraded devices. All the brackets are also being replaced so the apparatus can be safely secured into each truck. All apparatus and brackets are expected to be replaced by the middle of this year.

Washington State Patrol reports that Debra Burner, 62, was driving a silver 2005 Chevrolet Uplander southbound on State Route 125 when she failed to obey a traffic signal and collided with an ambulance driven by Daniel Thompson, 54, of Walla Walla as he was turning into the northbound lanes of SR 125 from Southeast Meadowbrook in College Place. The collision caused the ambulance to roll on its side and block the intersection. Traffic was blocked for about an hour as clean-up took place.

The 8,200-square-foot facility cost nearly $2 million and includes living space, a large kitchen, fitness equipment, a meeting room and separate sleeping quarters for men and women. It replaces the station on South Island Road, which was plagued by overcrowding, mold and leaks. The station is adjacent to the former Eagle Electric facility north of Pennyroyal Road. In 2009, the city purchased the land for $1 million with the intention to use the site for a new fire station. After years of planning, crews broke ground on the project last spring, and construction started in July.

Approved unanimously by the Pocatello City Council in December, the fire department will spend approximately $1.78 million on three 2018 Pierce Arrow XT pumper trucks, which are expected to arrive by the end of the year, according to Travis Smith, the assistant chief of operations for the Pocatello Fire Department.  

Smith continued, “What’s happened in Pocatello is we have had a decent amount of trouble keeping up.”

In the early 1990s, Smith said the fire department purchased four trucks in combination with building a new fire station as a result of a bond that passed. Those trucks remained on the frontline until 2005, Smith added.