EASTON, Pa. — Officials acknowledged Tuesday that the city lacks certified fire inspectors and does not have the staffing needed to meet key safety recommendations issued after February’s Hotel Hampton fire.
The admission came as council members questioned how years of missed inspections and fragmented oversight were allowed to persist.
During a lengthy City Council committee meeting, Easton Fire Chief Henry Hennings and Planning and Codes Director Dwayne Tillman outlined the city’s response to a federal investigation into the Feb. 20 boarding house fire that seriously injured Wilson firefighter Bobby Lewullis.
Operational and oversight issues tied to the fire included deficiencies in staffing, Mayday procedures, air management, pre-incident planning and inspections of high-risk buildings.The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health report
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health report identified operational and oversight issues tied to the fire.
They included deficiencies in staffing, Mayday procedures, air management, pre-incident planning and inspections of high-risk buildings.
“All the recommendations will be done in compliance with the appropriate NFPA [National Fire Protection Association] standard that applies to the recommendation itself,” Hennings told council.
But much of Tuesday’s discussion focused less on firefighting tactics and more on the city’s inspection system — and whether Easton has the personnel or structure needed to prevent similar problems in the future.
Inspection system under scrutiny
Tillman said the city’s fire safety inspection program largely stopped around the COVID-19 pandemic and never was fully transferred into the city’s newer OpenGov software system.
“After doing a deeper dive, they stopped right around COVID,” Tillman said, describing a process that “got left by the wayside.”
Officials acknowledged the city currently has no personnel certified to conduct comprehensive fire inspections under broader state standards.
"I don't see it without additional staffing.”Easton Planning and Codes Director Dwayne Tillman
“We don't have anybody that is certified to go,” Hennings said when asked who in the city can perform certified fire inspections.
Tillman clarified that city staff still can perform fire safety inspections required under local ordinances, but said the city lacks broader International Code Council certifications needed for more comprehensive inspections.
Councilman Frank Graziano repeatedly questioned whether the city’s current staffing levels make compliance with NIOSH recommendations realistically possible.
According to officials, Easton has about 730 high-risk properties, including mixed-use buildings, multifamily housing and commercial structures.
“The NIOSH report, they recommend the high-risk building to be on an annual inspection,” Graziano said. “It's a lot of inspections that we just do not have. There's no feasible way we could do it at this point.”
Tillman agreed additional staffing would be required.
“Annually you're not — I don't see it without additional staffing,” he said.
'Fall through the cracks'
Officials later acknowledged that even completing inspections on the city’s existing three-year cycle may be unrealistic with current staffing levels.
When asked whether one employee could realistically complete all required inspections within a year, Tillman responded: “Probably not.”
"Just hearing about it, it just seems so sloppy, and such a mess from the outside."Easton Councilman Frank Pintabone on the city's current inspection system
Councilman Frank Pintabone questioned whether overlapping responsibilities between the fire department and codes office had become too disorganized.
“Just hearing about it, it just seems so sloppy, and such a mess from the outside,” Pintabone said. “It just seems like it makes it a lot easier for things to fall through the cracks.”
Officials defended the overlap as intentional, arguing multiple departments involved in inspections creates redundancy rather than confusion.
“There’s eyes in multiple areas when we get into these buildings,” Tillman said.
Still, officials repeatedly returned to the same issue: staffing.
Hennings estimated Easton likely would need at least three full-time fire inspectors to properly cover the city’s high-risk buildings. Bethlehem, he noted, has six full-time inspectors.
“We would probably need, I would say, at least three full-time fire inspectors,” Hennings said.
Tillman said only two people in the codes department currently are qualified to conduct fire safety inspections.
Fire department outlines operational changes
Hennings also detailed several operational changes the department already has begun implementing following the federal investigation.
That includes retraining firefighters on Mayday procedures and rescue operations.
“He should have called the Mayday much sooner than he did,” Hennings said while discussing Lewullis, who ran low on air during the fire before falling from a ladder while trying to self-rescue.
“Once you get past a certain point, you're out of air, and it's too late for us to really get into gear to come get you.”
The department also is buying 127 bailout kits through a regional bulk order with Wilson, Palmer and Forks townships. The kits let firefighters anchor themselves to a structure and descend from upper floors during emergencies.
“In Bobby's case, where he was calling for a ladder, if he'd had a bailout kit, it's a hook with a tethered line,” Hennings said. “You pull yourself out of the window, over the windowsill, and then you descend down.”
“In the future, we should be looking at a countywide fire and EMS department."Easton Fire Chief Henry Hennings
Easton additionally plans to expand joint training with neighboring departments and conduct regional post-incident reviews after major fires.
The city also is pursuing federal grant funding for a mobile air cascade system after officials acknowledged Easton now relies on neighboring departments to refill air bottles during large-scale incidents.
“We don't,” Hennings said when asked whether Easton has its own mobile refill capability. “We ask for Forks Township or Nancy Run to come fill our bottles.”
A mobile air unit could cost about $400,000, he said.
Hennings also warned that mutual aid staffing levels can vary dramatically between departments.
“In this instance, for this particular fire, a mutual aid fire department sent three junior firefighters,” he said. “While the bodies are there ... they can't be used for the actual firefighting or rescue.”
The chief said Easton is evaluating broader regionalization efforts and has received grant funding to study closer coordination with Wilson’s fire services.
“In the future, we should be looking at a countywide fire and EMS department,” Hennings said. “That would reduce the burden on the taxpayers.”
Budget concerns surface
As the discussion stretched past an hour, debate shifted toward the cost of implementing the recommendations.
Officials discussed potential staffing models that included full-time inspectors, part-time inspectors and even retired firefighters who could return in limited roles.
But administrators cautioned that certification requirements, labor agreements and equipment costs could complicate those efforts.
City Administrator Luis Campos said even creating part-time positions could require contract negotiations and additional training investments.
The city estimates it costs $10,000 to fully equip a firefighter.
“The point is, I think we need to talk about what the city needs going future, and I don't think we obviously aren't going to have it all this year, but we need to make a long term plan, so we can do these things, so we're going in the right direction."Easton Councilman Frank Graziano
Near the end of the discussion, Mayor Sal Panto voiced concern over the growing list of proposed additions.
“Everybody here wants to hire more firefighters and inspectors,” Panto said.
Graziano pushed back on the idea that the discussion was simply about increasing spending.
“The point is, I think we need to talk about what the city needs going future, and I don't think we obviously aren't going to have it all this year," he said.
"But we need to make a long term plan, so we can do these things, so we're going in the right direction.
“I don't think it's about spending all the money tonight, I think it's about looking at what we have to do and how we get there, that's the point of it.”
The discussion comes as Easton officials begin preparing next year’s budget and as contract negotiations with the firefighters union are set to begin this week.
