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Easton News

Easton's 1st Emergency Management Task Force brings helpers together

Easton Emergency Management Task Force
Brian Myszkowski
/
LehighValleyNews.com
City Administrator Luis Campos speaks at the inaugural Easton Emergency Management Task Force meeting at Lafayette College on Aug. 28, 2025.

EASTON, Pa. — First responders came together Thursday to develop a stronger, more efficient network to use in emergency situations.

Organized by Easton City Administrator Luis Campos, the inaugural Easton Emergency Management Task Force brought professionals from local police, fire departments, EMS, Northampton County, and local human services organizations to strengthen connections that are paramount in times of emergency.

According to Campos, the impetus for the gathering came following the Memorial Day 2023 Ferry Street fire, when Councilwoman Taiba Sultana, along with Councilmen Roger Ruggles and Ken Brown, launched a committee to explore better mobilization efforts during catastrophes.

Fire Chief Henry Hennings and American Red Cross Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter Executive Director Peter Brown spoke during Thursday's event at Lafayette College’s Pfenning Alumni Center.

They reviewed existing cooperation protocol, along with the importance of maintaining and expanding those connections.

Hennings, who also serves as the city’s emergency management coordinator, reviewed the Multi-Agency Resource Center, or MARC, which serves as a centralized location for families and individuals affected by disasters and emergencies to access assistance from government, nonprofit and community agencies.

“We need everybody in a central location, because we don't know what help they're going to require, and the MARC is established to have all these organizations there,” Hennings said.

Accessibility is key

According to Hennings, the MARC would need to be centrally located, ADA-accessible, and in close proximity to affected communities. Coordination would be led by emergency management, with interagency agreements in place.

For long-term recovery, a transition from MARCs to Disaster Recovery Centers or case-management programs may also be necessary.

Brown explained the role of the American Red Cross in local disasters, and the increasing need for multi-agency assistance, especially for struggling individuals and families.

“Over 65% of the fires that we respond to in the Lehigh Valley are in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods. So that means you're starting supporting people who've lost things in a fire, who didn't have much to begin with, and are probably struggling on a monthly basis to get by,” Brown said.

Model response

According to Brown, the response to the 2019 Fountain Street explosion and fire that destroyed 10 homes in Allentown served as a beacon of a unified response.

After an onslaught of initial community support, Brown said, it was clear the American Red Cross and other agencies needed to be on the same page, in order to streamline services to victims and avoid a duplication of services.

“So that came about when we worked through that process, and that was about a five-week response,” Brown said.

“We had better coordination of resource delivery and avoided overlaps," he said. "We saw a significant financial and material resources distributed to families, and this was really the foundation of what's become a Lehigh Valley-wide network for organizations that are able to support families in the event of a disaster. So that was kind of the basis for this.”

Fast forward to the Ferry Street fire two years ago that affected 15 homes, where even more coordinated efforts launched even before the blaze was extinguished.

Brown said a coalition came together that night, and a meeting was held the very next day with city officials, local organizations, nonprofits and other groups.

Shelters were established, and immediate needs were addressed, including access to food and medical care. Eventually, other needs, including document replacement, transitional housing, and other matters, were also addressed, Brown said.

American Red Cross

While American Red Cross does not participate in fundraising, Brown said it can assist in informing the process to “make sure everybody knows which actual households were impacted.”

“So what have we learned so far in several years of doing this work? I always remind myself, remember King Arthur: It's a round table. We're a convener. We're not the boss.”
Peter Brown, American Red Cross Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter

“So what have we learned so far in several years of doing this work?" Brown said. "I always remind myself, remember King Arthur: It's a round table. We're a convener. We're not the boss.”

“Everyone needs to have the opportunity to be around that table and have a voice and be equally valued," he said. "Inclusion matters. We've gained valuable insights and much better access to clients by working through grassroots based, local community organizations, even though that organization may just be three women on a street who decided to work together to help their neighbors — they are engaged in this process.”

Brown admitted the process is not easy, and requires constant maintenance, communication and information sharing.

“But the important thing is to not let those challenges get in the way of continuing to advance this opportunity in this process, and then what we've learned is that each incident strengthens the collaboration,” Brown said.

Future meetings for the task force may be held annually, or every other year, Campos said.