NIOSH: Safety Inspections Lapsed at Easton, PA, Boarding House Where Firefighter Hurt

A federal investigative report details how a seven-year veteran firefighter sustained serious injuries in the Feb. 20 fire that destroyed the Hotel Hampton boarding house in Downtown Easton.

Investigators found the building had not undergone a fire-safety inspection since 2017 due to limited staffing in the Easton code enforcement office, according to the 30-page National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) report.

Historical records showed previous violations including nonfunctioning smoke detectors, fire doors propped open and fire escape windows nailed shut, according to the report.

NIOSH, part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, makes numerous recommendations in the report filed under its Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program.

Authorities previously identified the firefighter who was seriously injured as Robert “Bobby” Lewullis, a career member of the Wilson Borough Fire Department who was assisting on the call.

He remains on leave as he undergoes rehabilitation for his injuries, Wilson Fire Chief Joseph Sipel said Friday.

Sipel said federal investigators reached out to him and a lot of other local officials for the report. He credited NIOSH with bringing a neutral eye to the investigation.

“It’s definitely helpful for the fire service overall, and hopefully everybody can learn from it,” he told lehighvalleylive.com.

Easton City Administrator Luis Campos did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. Easton Fire Chief Henry Hennings deferred comment to Campos, who told WFMZ-TV 69 News that city officials would review the report and discuss it before the city council.

The fire also resulted in injuries to three more firefighters, an EMT and four civilians. Over 30 tenants were displaced, with the American Red Cross and U.S. Small Business Administration stepping in to assist local, Northampton County and Pennsylvania aid efforts.

The firefighter who was most seriously injured fell more than 20 feet from a ladder while attempting to escape the fast-moving fire, according to the federal probe.

The firefighter lost consciousness while descending from a fourth-story window after running out of air during rescue operations at the 462 Northampton St. converted commercial building housing 48 rooms. He suffered a broken back, broken ankle, injured shoulder, and significant respiratory injuries from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide saturation, investigators said.

The incident began around 10:45 a.m. when dispatchers received reports of an electrical fire in the basement of the structure dating to 1900. Though crews initially knocked down the basement fire, smoke conditions changed drastically and flames spread vertically through the building’s balloon-frame construction.

Hennings and other officials previously detailed the fire response, and how the building’s construction complicated efforts, during a news conference the day after the incident.

The Wilson firefighter had entered to conduct a primary search but became separated from his partner while attempting to rescue multiple residents, according to the report. Data from his self-contained breathing apparatus showed he entered with 4,435 PSI and depleted his air supply in 15 minutes.

In zero-visibility conditions, the firefighter realized he did not have enough air to exit and located a room with a window on the fourth floor.

“As he broke and cleared the window, his facepiece sealed tightly to his face,” NIOSH states in the report. “He removed his regulator, placed his hood over the facepiece connection to filter breathe and hung his head out of the window.”

The firefighter made several radio transmissions reporting he was out of air before declaring a Mayday at 11:15 a.m. Ground crews initially struggled to locate him due to heavy smoke and mistakenly raised a ladder to the wrong window, according to the investigation. After crews repositioned the ladder, it was placed under cable lines and near live power lines that had not been disconnected by the utility company, investigators found.

At 11:21 a.m., the firefighter stepped onto the ladder. He lost consciousness as he reached the top of the second-story windows and fell. The NIOSH report noted the “Ladder 24 firefighter was out of air and spent over 10 minutes inhaling smoke and byproducts of combustion while he waited for a ladder.”

The federal investigation identified several factors contributing to the injury, including the failure of crews to assist the Mayday firefighter down the ladder when his medical status was unknown. The report also cited issues with air management, crew integrity and inadequate staffing.

NIOSH recommended fire departments ensure personnel are trained in air management and survival procedures, and that municipalities enforce fire codes at high-risk occupancies like boarding houses.

Following the incident, the fire departments involved implemented enhanced radio discipline training and new protocols for assigned tactical channels during complex emergencies, according to NIOSH.

Read the full report via the cdc.gov website for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program.

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