BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Amid municipal budget discussions, Bethlehem firefighter advocates continue pushing city officials to hire more first responders to meet national response benchmarks, alleviate excessive use of overtime and get ahead of potential retirements.
Tonight, Thursday, Dec. 4, City Council will weigh proposed amendments to the budget to make those hires.
A final vote on the 2026 budget is set for Dec. 16.
The conversation also continued Tuesday.
The proposed 2026 budget is available on the city website.
‘Going to take a firefighter to die’
During the third city budget hearing on Nov. 20, which ran nearly eight hours after multiple departments presented their spending plans, Bethlehem Fire Department Lt. Lou Jimenez, who also is Local 735 president, said BFD lost 10 positions and a firehouse over the past 15 years.
Department officials said BFD trails in its response capabilities for all hazard levels, as calls for service are up and development across the city continues.
“Each and every one of these gentlemen here are fine individuals and deserve to have the crew they need. This city deserves the staffing that they need. We need to work better together.”
Bethlehem Fire Department Lieutenant and Local 735 President Lou Jimenez
“It’s going to take a firefighter to die in this city, in the line of duty,” Jimenez said to council.
“Each and every one of these gentlemen here are fine individuals and deserve to have the crew they need. This city deserves the staffing that they need. We need to work better together.
“We need to find that money for those four positions, and we need to find that money for four more positions after that. We’ve got to raise taxes, apply for [Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response] grants.
“It needs to happen or somebody is going to die,” he said.
On Sunday, BFD required all units on scene for a fire at Pints at Pies on Elizabeth Avenue.
According to the Bethlehem Fire Buffs Facebook page, it may have ended up being “the perfect storm” when a second call came in for a fire on Linden Street, then another on Summit Street across the city in which there were no units to respond.
No injuries were reported.
Will Oliver
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LehighValleyNews.com
In 2025, mandated overtime has happened on “a somewhat routine basis,” according to Bethlehem Fire Chief Matthew Griffin said, with firefighters sometimes facing 39-hour shifts in the most extreme cases.
‘A number of opportunities’ to study department
A “good-faith” start, Jimenez said, would be to add four firefighter positions in 2026, making for 108 among the ranks.
That would let North West Fire Station, 1665 Catasauqua Road, to have an officer on site each shift and avoid the usual officer covering two districts at the same time.
City administration has said there are “a number of opportunities” ahead to study BFD staffing, response times, new station location and an apparatus maintenance plan.
That’s planned to include a comprehensive Fire and EMS apparatus protection and efficiency study, with plans to review submissions and bring further plans to council in December.
“You want to make decisions based upon data. Data is great, but you can tell that data whatever you want it to say. What we’re telling you right now [is] we don’t have enough people.”
Bethlehem Fire Dept. Lt. Darryl Higgins
City officials said they hope to begin the study in early 2026 — reportedly the first on the topic in 30 years.
First responders are calling on City Council and the mayor’s office to come by the firehouse to see things for themselves.
“You want to make decisions based upon data,” BFD Lt. Darryl Higgins said. “Data is great, but you can tell that data whatever you want it to say.
“What we’re telling you right now [is] we don’t have enough people.”
‘Like a fire waiting to happen’
Fire Chief Matthew Griffin said the city over the past several years has sent 32 recruits through the fire academy, but not everyone graduates and the team has lost a few along the way.
Officials said 15 cadets will head to the academy in 2026, while 12 were sent in 2025 and 15 in 2024.
Mayor J. William Reynolds said he was all for finding sustainable revenues from the general fund to pay for the firefighter positions, but that it was “wiser to do the study” to avoid leaving first responders with “an empty promise.”
“We have moved mountains to be able to send more people to the academy, to be able to drive down those overtime costs and things like that,” Reynolds said.
Near 1 a.m., Councilwoman Grace Crampsie Smith said, “this is like a fire waiting to happen.”
“For six years, I have been fighting for the fire department to no avail,” Crampsie Smith said. “These guys and gals are doing the best they can with the resources they have, but we’re burning them out.
“And we’re going to have a tragedy someday, and I don’t want that on my shoulders and my conscience — I really don’t. So I am going to work on doing an amendment.”
“I appreciate the efforts to find the money for the personnel, I certainly do. It is not the fault of any other department that we’re searching for these funds. I really hope you can come up with a way not to take from another department.”
Bethlehem Fire Chief Matthew Griffin
“All we need to do is have one really bad fire,” said Councilman Bryan Callahan, who proposed potentially charging an additional fire-services fee for students attending universities in the city.
He also said he may target the “bloated” budget of the city’s Department of Community and Economic Development to find the money needed.
Officials said DCED operates using mostly grant funding.
“I appreciate the efforts to find the money for the personnel, I certainly do,” Chief Griffin said. “It is not the fault of any other department that we’re searching for these funds.
“I really hope you can come up with a way not to take from another department.”
Heading into 2026
More details on the BFD staffing outlook include:
Three cadets graduated from the academy last week, with eight to enter in January.The department on paper is made up of four platoons made up of 24 people each; two spots are currently vacant in each platoon. Firefighters work a 4-on-4-off schedule, including two days followed by two nights, followed by four days off in a row. Day shifts are nine hours, while night shifts are 15. Extreme cases call for 39-hour shifts.Some health issues and long-term illness are happening, along with some “natural turn of people retiring,” city administration said. The city expects to be able to account for 10 to 12 retirements per year, officials said, adding that the average is 3.5 annually over a 20-year period.Griffin said BFD is “not on automatic dispatch for any other municipality,” but may help neighbors when requested.
Griffin said Bethlehem plans “a large commitment” to firefighter training investment this year, also bolstering the respective budget for hazardous materials, bomb squad and water rescue team.
The fire department’s $15 million proposed budget includes 3% salary increases, along with buying two new fire apparatuses at $3.8 million — “something that has really changed in the years I’ve been on the job,” Griffin said.
Other proposed department purchases for 2026 include four ambulances, a fire command vehicle, fire inspector vehicle and new self-contained breathing apparatus filling station.
In 2024, the city raised real estate taxes by 2.6% to hire four new paramedics.