Following NIOSH Report, Easton, PA, Fire Chief Calls for New Staffing and Operational Changes
Easton officials are evaluating changes to fire staffing, inspections and emergency response procedures following the release of a federal report examining a Hotel Hampton fire earlier this year.
The Feb. 20 blaze destroyed the 462 Northampton St. rooming house that was home to more than 40 residents. All occupants escaped, but a Wilson Borough firefighter suffered serious injuries, including a broken back and ankle.
During a city council committee meeting Tuesday, officials and council members discussed staffing shortages, inspection practices and several recommendations outlined in a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) report.
Fire Chief Henry Hennings said the city would likely need three full-time fire inspectors, with responsibilities divided among different areas of the city, in order to perform more frequent inspections of high-risk buildings.
Dwayne Tillman, the city’s director of planning and codes, said Easton doesn’t have a dedicated, fully certified fire inspector performing those inspections citywide.
According to Tillman, fire safety inspections at some high-risk buildings largely stopped around the COVID-19 pandemic because of staffing reductions and the city’s transition to the OpenGov software system.
Tillman reported that officials identified approximately 730 high-risk buildings citywide, including commercial, mixed-use and rental properties. Of those buildings, 133 have fire pre-plans and 129 have received rental inspections, leaving nearly 500 properties to be prioritized for future inspections.
Hennings said comprehensive inspections can be time-consuming. He said a large facility such as a hospital could require two inspectors working for one to two weeks, while a building the size of Easton City Hall could take several days to inspect depending on the conditions found.
“Without a dedicated full‑time fire inspector, I just don’t know if we would ever hit that mark,” Hennings said.
Hennings said Bethlehem employs about six full-time fire inspectors and is moving toward an hourly fee structure that helps offset inspection costs.
City Administrator Luis Campos said the administration would review Bethlehem’s model and determine whether a similar fee-for-service approach could work in Easton. He also noted the city’s fire union contract allows part-time firefighters, though a part-time inspector model would require further evaluation.
Hennings explained that pre-incident plans are used by firefighters during emergencies and provide information such as utility shutoffs, alarm panel locations, hazardous materials and building layouts.
“Pre‑plans do not prevent fires,” Hennings clarified. “What they do is they give us access to the building, so we know where the vital building systems are.”
Fire safety inspections are conducted under a city ordinance and focus on basic fire prevention requirements such as exits, extinguishers and other safety measures. Full fire inspections are more comprehensive code inspections that require specialized certifications and licenses.
Under current city ordinance, fire safety inspections are generally required every three years, however some properties are inspected every four years. Councilman Frank Graziano noted that NIOSH recommends annual inspections for high-risk buildings, inspections every two years for moderate-risk properties and every three years for low-risk buildings.
Council members raised concerns about coordination among departments responsible for inspections and enforcement. Councilman Frank Pintabone said responsibilities are spread among multiple entities, including the fire department, codes office, third-party contractors and health officials.
“It just seems like it makes it a lot easier for things to fall through the cracks,” he said.
Councilwoman Julie Zando-Dennis advocated for improved software integration that would allow officials to track completed inspections, overdue inspections and outstanding compliance issues for individual properties.
Hennings said firefighters maintain pre-incident plans for more than 500 buildings through the department’s First Due software system. Those plans are prioritized for high-risk occupancies and new construction projects.
“It’s a continual process throughout the year,” Hennings said. “It does take time to cover all the high-risk occupancies, because there are so many, and sometimes the pre-fire planning gets set off to the side.”
On Wednesday, City Council approved an agreement with National Fire & Safety Inspection Consultants to assist with administration of the city’s fire safety inspection program.
Under the agreement, the company will maintain inspection records, issue inspection reports, coordinate compliance activities, collect and remit inspection fees, maintain inspection data and provide related administrative and fire prevention services.
Hennings said the department is reinforcing training on air management and emergency procedures. This comes after investigators found the injured Wilson firefighter was running out of air but did not declare a Mayday early enough. The chief said firefighters will now be trained to immediately declare a Mayday when low-air warnings activate.
Mayday procedures, air management and firefighter survival training will become semiannual department-wide exercises.
Hennings also reported that Easton, Forks Township, Palmer Township and Wilson fire departments jointly purchased approximately 127 bailout kits through a cooperative purchasing program, reducing costs by about $12,000. The kits are designed to allow firefighters to safely escape upper floors using ropes and harness systems.
The departments plan to conduct joint bailout training exercises at facilities in Forks and Palmer townships as well as a location at Easton’s Central fire station.
The NIOSH report found that two firefighters became separated during the Hotel Hampton incident, violating the “two-in/two-out” standard. Hennings said the department already enforces the policy and is reinforcing the requirement through training with both Easton firefighters and mutual-aid companies.
There can also be challenges associated with mutual-aid responses. Hennings said volunteer departments can have varying response times and staffing levels, and firefighters arriving from different departments may have different training backgrounds. He said a mutual-aid company responding to the Hotel Hampton fire sent three junior firefighters who, because of age restrictions, could not participate in interior firefighting operations.
“While there are tasks on the ground that they can do, they can’t enter a building,” he said.
Hennings said Easton is preparing to begin a regionalization study funded through a 2025 grant that will examine potential consolidation with Wilson Borough. He said a long-term vision could involve a countywide fire and EMS system that would distribute costs across a larger population base.
The chief said the city continues to rely on neighboring departments for mobile air-filling capabilities at major incidents and is pursuing a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to replace the fire department’s stationary cascade air system.
Other improvements discussed included continued post-incident reviews involving mutual-aid departments, coordination with Northampton County’s 911 center, and a July meeting with utility companies and emergency responders to standardize procedures for electrical shutoffs and utility-related hazards at fire scenes.
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