EASTON, Pa. – Officials in Easton are sounding the alarm about power issues during a big fire downtown last week that intensified an already dangerous scene.

Scorching flames weren’t the only problem on scene of the fire that ripped through the Hampton Hotel. The chaotic scene injured a firefighter, displaced dozens of residents and ruined businesses.

Nearly a week later, the 400 block of Northampton Street has re-opened.

Easton Fire Chief Henry Hennings says there was a risk of electrocution amongst the firefighters on scene.

“When I’m calling to request the power be shut off. I’m not doing it as a whim. I don’t have time to sit and debate, discuss or explain why I need it off. I need it off,” said Hennings.

Hennings says electricity was not shut off by the power company until long after the original request, endangering the crews present.

“Push the button, disconnect the power. It’s an emergency,” said Hennings.

Met-Ed says they are reviewing a full timeline of their response to understand exactly what occurred and to determine whether there are opportunities to strengthen their procedures.

Hennings says he requested that Met-Ed shut the power down on the fire scene around 11a.m. on Friday.

According to his dispatch notes, Hennings says Met-Ed crews arrived on scene nearly an hour after that initial request, but power was not turned off until nearly two hours later.

“I understand there may have been some concerns because it is winter and it was such a large area, but you’re putting a lot of lives at risk,” said Hennings.

Wilson Borough Fire Chief Joseph Sipel says some firefighters reported tingling sensations in their hands.

“Firefighters that were working on ground ladders going to the second and third floor were reporting that they were getting shocked from the ladders, from touching the aluminum ladders,” said Sipel.

Sipel says when power is not shut off right away, it hinders the crews’ efforts.   

“Time is always of the essence for us, and anything that stops us from doing what we have to do is going to allow the fire to grow and cause more issues,” said Sipel.   

Easton Councilman Frank Pintabone says city officials are working to coordinate a meeting with Met-Ed to address issues going forward.

“To find out what went wrong, you know, where the lack of communication was. How could that be corrected? Not only for our firefighters going forward, but any firefighter that in the Commonwealth. We don’t want that to happen to anybody,” said Pintabone.

Met-Ed says they value their partnership with the city and will work closely with them to address their questions and provide clarity on their established safety protocols.

A full statement from Met-Ed below:

Safety for both the public and our crews is always our highest priority. We are reviewing the full timeline of last week’s response to understand exactly what occurred and to determine whether there are opportunities to further strengthen our procedures. We value our partnership with the city and will work closely with them to address their questions and provide clarity on our established safety protocols.

Pintabone says another issue with the fire was that officials did not have an occupancy log on them.

“The owner said the log was in the building, which was on fire. So we didn’t really know how many residents were in the building.”

“Do you know how they navigated through that?” asked 69 News Reporter Cierra Genelle.

“Skill,” said Pintabone. “I mean, we have a talented bunch of firefighters, not only in Easton, but all the surrounding departments that came and helped. They go through the building ,they’ve been in there before, so they were navigating it a little bit better. And it was a matter of just getting people talking with them, finding out who wasn’t there.”

Pintabone says he’s pushing for a new ordinance that will help first responders to know immediately who and how many are residents of a burning building.

“I’m working with the solicitor to find a way to guarantee [landlords] are updating their numbers,” said Pintabone. “It was an unsettling few days for many of us, not knowing. So I want to prevent that from happening again.”