Photo by Andreas Pelekis for The Lafayette
The Hotel Hampton building was deemed a total loss by city officials.
The cause of the fire that left a hole in downtown Easton two weeks ago remains unknown. Meanwhile, the city is acting in response to a delayed electricity shut-off during the disaster.
As of Wednesday morning, the investigation into the cause of the fire is still underway, according to Easton fire chief Henry Hennings. Fire crews responded to what became a three-alarm electrical fire on Feb. 20 at the Hotel Hampton building on Northampton Street. 40 residents were displaced; several surrounding businesses were damaged by the fire and response.
A subsection of Easton, including Lafayette College-owned buildings, was de-energized by Met-Ed for about an hour during the fire for the safety of emergency responders. However, Hennings said that he was told twice that the power was shut off at the scene when it was not, taking hours for the request to be completed.
“That compromises firefighter safety,” Hennings said, describing how firefighters were at risk for electrocution when several ground ladders became energized.
He clarified that his issue was not with local Met-Ed responders, but those in charge of remotely shutting off power.
“That’s what put everybody in a situation that’s life-threatening,” Hennings said.
Met-Ed did not respond to several requests for comment.
City councilman Frank Pintabone said he is coordinating a meeting between the city and Met-Ed, which he anticipates will be scheduled sometime in the next few weeks.
The meeting is to “find out what went wrong, to make sure we all understand our roles” and “most importantly, ensure that this doesn’t happen again,” he said.
Meanwhile, Easton City Council planned to draft an ordinance at its Feb. 25 meeting mandating a digital occupancy list for all multi-occupancy residential buildings. Emergency responders struggled to track residents because the physical occupancy list was in the building.
One person was severely injured at the scene of the fire, Wilson firefighter Bobby Lewullis, who returned from the hospital last week after falling from a ladder at the scene. His mother, Lafayette Assistant Director of Public Safety Sandra Rogers said Lewullis is recovering at home using a walker, and hopes to begin physical therapy in late April. Reports from doctors at the family’s home have been positive, Rogers said.
Rogers said a Feb. 27 fundraiser supporting Lewullis and the family was “better than anybody could ever imagine.” She said firefighters traveled from as far as New York City and Maryland to attend the fundraiser, which lasted over 10 hours at Wilson’s Pints & Pies Pub.
United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley has reportedly raised over $27,000 for displaced residents and first responders. Several fundraising events have been held over the past few weeks by various organizations.
Andreas Pelekis ’26 contributed reporting.