Couch fire results in evacuation of downtown Pocatello apartment complex

POCATELLO — Residents of a downtown Pocatello apartment complex were evacuated Monday after a couch caught fire and filled much of the building with smoke.

The incident occurred at the apartment complex located at 310 East Center Street and was reported to the Pocatello Fire Department around 11:30 a.m., authorities said.

The couch was located in the lobby area of the apartment complex and firefighters arrived to find the smoking couch had been moved to the sidewalk in front of the building, according to authorities.

Riann Collins, an employee of Barricade, which is located next door to the front entrance to the apartment complex, said she heard a man yelling for assistance and rushed over with a fire extinguisher but arrived to see the couch fire had been put out already, she told the Idaho State Journal on Tuesday.

Collins assisted the man in moving the couch outside and then assisted another resident in corralling some kittens that, according to her, were lively but not acting as erratically as she would have thought considering the fire alarm in the building was sounding off and the lobby was full of smoke.

Firefighters spent about 45 minutes at the scene of the fire ensuring the couch would not reignite and to check that there weren’t any other fire hazards in the vicinity, authorities said.

The Pocatello Fire Department responded to an apartment complex on East Center Street for the report of a structure fire on Monday.

East Center and East Clark streets between Second and Third avenues were closed for about 45 minutes as the result of the fire.

Nobody was injured as a result of the blaze and all occupants were able to return to their apartments on Monday afternoon.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.