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Coeur d'Alene Police seeking declaration of emergency after building fire last week

This request follows the fire last week that destroyed the department’s supplementary building on its campus.

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — The Coeur d’Alene Police Department is asking the city council to make a declaration of emergency at its meeting Tuesday night.

This request follows the fire last week that destroyed the department’s supplementary building on its campus.

Last week, a fire destroyed the police department’s supplementary building. It’s home to code enforcement, animal control and the police department’s IT division.

RELATED: Coeur d'Alene Police seek emergency declaration following fire that destroyed millions of dollars worth of equipment

CDA PD says it might need millions of dollars to replace important equipment in last week’s fire, and that’s why the department is asking the city council to release emergency funds to replace those resources quickly.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the Coeur d’Alene City Council will decide if an emergency exists because of a city building fire. If so, it would then release public emergency funds to replace all that was lost in the fire.  

This includes the department’s special team’s equipment, including the SWAT Bearcat and Incident Command trailer.

“There are pieces of equipment that we need now that can’t wait,” Coeur d'Alene Mayor Jim Hammond said.

Hammond says declaring an emergency would help speed up the purchasing process.

"What it does is allows them to go ahead and make the purchase now without the bidding process," Hammond said. "So that's how we speed up the process."

Hammond says the bidding process can take several months, but also says the department needs that equipment now.

"It's just a matter of changing process so that we can speed up their opportunity to make those purchases," Hammond said.

Police Chief Lee White is presenting this request to the council. In his report, White says the exact amount of loss is still being determined, but expects it will likely be millions of dollars.

The city is insured for incidents like this fire. Chief White hopes proceeds from insurance will cover the entire loss.

The police department says the fire appears to be accidental. But Chief White indicates the findings will take about a month.

RELATED: Fire destroys Coeur d'Alene Police Department building, torching equipment and offices

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