BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Police say there will be no charges filed in connection to a man whose smoking started a fire at a luxury apartment complex in Bethlehem in May.
Since the fire, scaffolding has covered Five10 Flats while construction crews repair the damage.
Police say the man who started the fire had no idea he did it and was inside the building when it was evacuated.
May 2, flames and black smoke billow from the top of Five10 Flats in Bethlehem.
Surveillance video would later show the fire started after someone was smoking on the roof.
“We were able to see the gentleman attempt to put out the cigar. But even though he removed it, the actual cigar itself and left the area, it continued to smolder and eventually sparked and became the fire,” said Bethlehem Police Cpt. William Audelo.
Police have ruled the fire an accident, deciding not to file charges.
But in the aftermath, 135 tenants and ground level businesses were displaced.
“This has been incredibly challenging for the folks involved,” said
former Mayor John Callahan, who is now with Peron Development.
Callahan says a third of the tenants were moved to the Marquis in Easton.
In August, El Jefe’s Taqueria was the first business to move back into the ground floor.
Callahan says more businesses will open soon, including a coffee shop and a Mediterranean restaurant.
He says construction on the second and third floors should be finished soon.
“We are signing leases now. We’re actively sort of pre-leasing with the anticipation that they’ll be able to move in February 1st,” said Callahan.
Construction on the rest of the floors is expected to be complete in the spring with the building fully occupied by the one year anniversary of the fire.
Callahan says since the fire, he is especially proud to see how the community came to gather to help the people and the businesses that were displaced.
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