The North Bannock County Fire District is going to explore alternative locations for its future fire station after Tuesday’s collapse of a building that was under construction and originally going to house the station.

The collapsed structure is located northwest of the intersection of Highway 91 and Tyhee Road. One individual died and another was injured from the incident.

“The North Bannock County Fire District acknowledges the tragedy that occurred today when a building under construction collapsed,” North Bannock County Fire District said in a statement. “Our first concern is for the workers and their families. An investigation by the proper authorities to determine the cause has been initiated.”

An unnamed company had a verbal agreement to lease two bays of the building to the fire district, after construction was completed. The bays were going to serve as a temporary fire station until a permanent station was decided upon.

The North Bannock County Fire District is in the beginning stages of starting a new volunteer fire department after it did not renew a contract with the Chubbuck Fire Department, which serves North Bannock County until Oct. 1.

North Bannock County Fire District Chairman Roy Allen said the district is considering other temporary housing for the department, while he wasn’t ready to dismiss the original plan within hours of two walls collapsing in the building that was supposed to shelter the department.

“It is going to set the construction back quite a ways,” Allen said. “It will have to be investigated and so we will have to look around for an alternate site to start out our fire department and do the best we can.”

Allen said the district will review locations around Pocatello and Chubbuck that were previously under consideration for the fire station, but he is unsure if they are still available.

After a two-year $500,000 property tax levy was passed by North Bannock County Fire District voters on Aug. 6, the district has made multiple noteworthy decisions.

Allen said the fire district selected a full-time fire chief in addition to purchasing a fire truck and pick-up truck chassis with a cab that will be transformed into a brush truck.

The new fire chief will be announced at the fire district meeting at 7 p.m. Friday at Pocatello’s Quality Inn. The chief will start Monday and have an annual salary of $56,000.

“At this stage of the fire department, we needed a full-time fire chief,” Allen said. “We have so much to do, so much equipment to purchase, so many policies to formulate, so many new firefighters to train. For the safety of our firefighters, we felt like we needed a full-time fire chief, at least initially.”

As planned, a 2004 Kenworth firetruck was purchased last week for $25,000 from Bonneville Fire District 1.

The chassis with a cab is from a 2019 F-350 Ford truck was purchased Tuesday by the district for $48,000. It is the station’s only new vehicle.

“We didn’t get a used because used brush trucks are worn out,” Allen said. “Usually what happens with brush trucks is the chassis gets replaced. And you save the bed and the pump and the tank and you just replace the chassis. That’s how most departments do it.”

The chassis with a cab will be sent to Salt Lake City, where it will be up-fitted into a wildland vehicle for an estimated cost of $20,000, according to Allen. A flatbed, fire pump, water tank and the rest of tools needed to fight wildland fires will be installed.

Thanks to donations from Idaho fire districts, North Bannock has firefighting clothes, boots, helmets and goggles. But more critical equipment is still on the docket.

The fire district is looking to get a generator, automated external defibrillator, self-contained breathing apparatuses, a lighting system and medical kits among other items.

The fire district is also looking for a used water tender truck, as there are no fire hydrants in the North Bannock County Fire District. Allen said they have not found an affordable option yet.