EASTON, Pa. – Inadequate staffing and structure continue to plague the City of Easton’s fire department.
After a federal investigation into a massive fire at an old hotel in downtown Easton revealed the building hadn’t been inspected for nearly a decade, city officials are now discussing something that could be even more troubling.
Easton Fire Chief Henry Hennings said there is no one in the city certified to do comprehensive fire inspections up to the standards in that nearly 30-page federal report.
Inside City Council Chambers on Tuesday, the question of how to meet the city’s key fire safety recommendations was on the hot seat.
The city does not have a hired full-time fire inspector, according to Hennings. Easton currently relies on just two people to handle local safety inspections and neither one works full-time.
“We don’t have anybody who is certified,” said Hennings, sitting before council.
“So, there is nobody that can do an actual fire inspection for the City of Easton?” asked a council member.
“No,” said Hennings.
Hennings emphasized the need for additional manpower to properly cover the city’s hundreds of high-risk properties.
He referenced the city’s response to the federal investigation report, that detailed the Hotel Hampton’s missing inspection for nearly a decade and history of code violations.
Since receiving that report, Hennings highlighted the department’s new operational changes, like Mayday procedures and rescue operations.
Meanwhile, local business owners along Northampton Street are still working to pick up the pieces physically and financially, nearly four months after the Hotel Hampton went up in flames.
The fire injured a firefighter, displaced dozens and damaged businesses.
Now some business owners are weighing in on the city’s discussions for future safety plans and agree that more manpower is needed for everyone’s safety.
“I definitely agree with increasing the amount of manpower,” said Bill Sneeringer, owner of State Cafe and Grill in Easton.
Sneeringer said with every new building assembled in the city, “there’s so many more, so many new people moving in, and so many new apartments and residents. We need this; we need more, because obviously this kind of thing may never have happened,” he said.
Just two doors down from a boarded up and fenced off scene, Kelly Bauer, Owner of non-profit organization “Love You More” said she believes these discussions are crucial for fire safety prevention.
“I think we need to make sure that going forward, we’re really making an effort for our city to be completely staffed the way that it needs to be,” said Bauer. “This is an opportunity for our government to say ‘this is what we need to fix, and this is how we’re going to do it, and we’re going to be transparent with the community in how we do that.'”
There is no word on what caused the fire.