POCATELLO — A fire at the former Naval Ordnance Plant on the city’s north side could have been much worse if not for Pocatello’s assistant fire chief being at the right place at the right time.
Shane Grow, who’s been with the Pocatello Fire Department for over 20 years, spotted smoke billowing from the plant, now known as the Titan Center, while driving home from work around 5 p.m. Thursday.
He called 911 to report the fire and firefighters were on the scene extinguishing the flames three minutes later.
The fire occurred at the Eaton Metal Products building within the plant and the flames mostly damaged the building’s exterior, the Fire Department reported.
The Fire Department had the fire under control in about 30 minutes and remained on the scene extinguishing hot spots until around 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
There were no injuries and Grow said if not for the Fire Department’s quick response, the blaze would have been much worse. Grow estimated that there was less than $50,000 in damage to the building.
The fire occurred after Eaton had closed for the day and there were no employees at the building when the flames ignited, Grow said.
Eaton had no comment about the fire when contacted Friday.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Fire Department.