Editor's note: LehighValleyNews.com granted anonymity to multiple sources for this report because they said they feared professional retaliation, damage to working relationships or legal exposure for speaking publicly about building conditions and post-incident response.
Their accounts were verified accounts against available records. Resident accounts also were partially corroborated through available records and contemporaneous public statements made following the fire.
EASTON, Pa. — Long before a three-alarm fire tore through the Hotel Hampton boarding house and seriously injured a firefighter, warning signs had been mounting — both inside the building and within the systems responsible for inspecting it, sources say.
Former residents and several people close to the fire department described years of deteriorating conditions and limited enforcement inside the property.
They said that included blocked or missing exits, rodent infestations, malfunctioning or ignored smoke alarms and more.
One former resident described the building as “a hell hole,” saying she often would feel an electric shock when turning on the water.
She said she also believed electric work and other repairs were not performed by knowledgeable, licensed contractors.
A source familiar with fire department operations said the building repeatedly was known to responders through emergency calls over time, but conditions never meaningfully changed.
“It’s never got better,” the source said. “It just seemed like it was held to the bare, absolute minimum standards. Or maybe no standards at all.”
Another former resident said that history ultimately shaped how people reacted when the fire incident unfolded in late February.
People didn’t evacuate, she said, because smoke alarms had often been ignored in the past — if they were functional at all.
The accounts surfaced in the aftermath of the release of a federal report that found the city had not conducted comprehensive fire inspections since 2017.
That included the Hotel Hampton.
The report cited staffing limitations in code enforcement and documented a history of serious safety concerns tied to fire spread and evacuation risk.
"Firefighters interviewed by NIOSH noted that most rooms were furnished with only a single mattress on the floor with others having additional furniture such as bed frames and dressers," the report states.
"Station 20 (Easton) firefighters were familiar with the building due to numerous EMS calls for medical emergencies, such as drug overdoses and a recent mattress fire.
"Firefighters noted a high fuel load with many rooms described as containing hoarding conditions."
Easton City Administrator Luis Campos did not dispute the accuracy of the report when reached by phone on the date of its public release, but said the city would be “fact-checking” the document.
“There have been a series of inspections and violations in the Hotel Hampton over the last 10 years, so the codes department has been in there,” Campos told LehighValleyNews.com.
In a prior Right-to-Know request, LehighValleyNews.com sought inspection reports, occupancy records, complaints and related documentation tied to the property.
The city provided a portion of responsive records, but withheld additional inspection and code enforcement materials, citing exemptions under Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law for records related to non-criminal investigations.
Officials also said no additional responsive records exist beyond what was produced.
LehighValleyNews.com's appeal remains with the state Office of Open Records.
Response from mutual aid departments
Wilson Fire Chief Joe Sipel said in a recent phone call that his department participated in the federal review after being contacted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health following the incident.
Wilson firefighters were among those on scene, and one firefighter was seriously injured after running out of air and falling from a ladder during a self-rescue attempt.
Sipel said NIOSH coordinated interviews with responders who were on scene leading up to the injury and described the agency as a neutral investigative body focused on firefighter safety.
“They reached out and asked if they could come out and do an investigation,” Sipel said.
“We coordinated it through Easton, and once everything was set up, they identified who they wanted to interview — basically anyone who was there on the fireground up until the firefighter fell out the window.”
He said the goal of the federal review is to identify contributing factors in injuries and close calls, even in chaotic incidents.
“It was very chaotic at the Hotel Hampton scene,” Sipel said. “There were 13 or 15 of us initially trying to put a fire out in a large building, putting ladders out.
"Everyone was busy and everybody was doing multiple jobs.”
Sipel said the findings should be used as a learning and training tool for firefighters, particularly around air management and decision-making under stress.
“It was probably a mistake for my firefighter to be on the fourth floor with the amount of air we had left,” he said.
“Some of this is personal responsibility for the firefighters, where they also say, ‘I have five or 10 minutes where I'm not on a call, maybe I have to go out on my own and work on air management.'
“Some of this is personal responsibility for the firefighters."Wilson Fire Chief Joe Sipel
“You know, you can wear an air pack anywhere and learn how much air you’re using and how much time you have left to do some things.”
Sipel said even brief reinforcement of fundamentals can be critical.
“Maybe this is a wake-up call for some guys,” he said. “Even if they spend five minutes going over something again.”
Staffing and operational pressures
Sipel also pointed to broader staffing challenges facing fire departments across the region, particularly when responding to large occupancy structures such as Hotel Hampton.
“Without a doubt, you can never have enough firefighters,” he said. “We have a few large buildings here in Wilson Borough — Easton Hospital, others. It’s always a worry.”
He also acknowledged that municipal leaders face difficult funding decisions when balancing fire protection costs against other budget demands.
“To stick up for councils and mayors, I’ve never heard anyone say they wouldn’t want a thousand firefighters,” Sipel said. “They just can’t pay for them. It’s a balancing act.”
But he said a career-long concern that’s coming into sharper focus is departments relying heavily on mutual aid and early escalation of calls to manage large-scale incidents.
“In the Hotel Hampton fire, we could have used 25 or 30 people in the first 10 minutes,” he said. “It may take that long to even get that many people there.
“My whole career, one of my great fears is large buildings and manpower. You can never have enough firefighters [in those instances], and we now have a lot more large buildings across the region than we used to."
He said that, ultimately, there has to be a strategy going forward to manage what has become a complex issue.
"I've talked with our officials, but money’s not there," he said. "We are running out of options … I believe this area will have to regionalize countywide."
That would mean combining, coordinating or consolidating fire and emergency medical services across multiple municipal jurisdictions to operate as a single entity or through unified, standardized agreements.
"In the short term it’ll cost more," Sipel said. "But in the long run it’ll better protect the citizens of Northampton County."
Staffing and enforcement concerns
A source familiar with Easton’s fire department and city operations also pointed to longstanding staffing limitations in inspection capacity, including the elimination or reassignment of a dedicated fire inspector role that was not replaced.
Requests to restore inspection staffing repeatedly were denied during budget cycles, the source said.
“It takes years for someone to really become knowledgeable enough as an inspector enough to do a good job."A source speaking on condition of anonymity
“It’s easier on the budget,” the source said. “But this is what happens.”
The result, according to the source, is a system in which inspections can become more procedural than risk-focused, particularly in buildings with repeated calls for service or known structural hazards.
“It takes years for someone to really become knowledgeable enough as an inspector enough to do a good job,” the source said.
Officials point to review process
Former Easton Fire Chief Mike Krill, who served just under 18 months in the role and retired from the department in 2020 after 35 years of service, said the city should confront the federal report’s findings and move quickly on reforms.
Krill made the comments in a public Facebook post that also was shared with LehighValleyNews.com.
“It is time for leaders and elected officials to embrace the report and use its findings to improve public safety,” Krill wrote on the Easton PA Post Facebook group.
“The purpose of investigations is not to criticize or condemn actions, it is to grow, improve and mitigate future mistakes.”
“The purpose of investigations is not to criticize or condemn actions, it is to grow, improve and mitigate future mistakes.”Facebook post from former Easton Fire Chief Mike Krill
City Councilman Frank Graziano replied to the post and said he largely agrees with Krill’s message, including his emphasis on anticipating future incidents and improving preparedness.
“Chief Krill’s point that ‘you must anticipate future incidents and begin preparing for them now’ is exactly right,” Graziano wrote.
“Those are the steps we’re currently focused on, reviewing policies, inspection processes, and oversight to make sure this doesn’t happen again going forward.”
Councilwoman Crystal Rose also responded and said council is reviewing procedures and oversight systems.
“I agree with Councilman Frank Graziano’s comments and want to echo that Chief Krill’s point about anticipating future incidents is exactly where our focus needs to be,” Rose wrote.
“Council is actively reviewing policies, inspection procedures, and oversight practices to identify any gaps and strengthen our approach moving forward.”
She said she expects a formal presentation and response from city administration at this week’s city council meeting, so that both council and the public can hear directly about next steps and accountability.
‘Go to the council meeting’
In a separate Facebook post Friday, Krill pointed to longstanding staffing constraints in the department.
Those include what he described as limited minimum shift staffing and uneven coverage across companies, depending on demand and availability.
Krill said those conditions can affect operations on large or fast-moving incidents, including command structure and “team integrity” when crews are operating with fewer personnel than ideal or splitting roles across multiple tasks.
He also referenced situations where staffing levels require officers to ride apparatus rather than remain in a dedicated command role, which he said can delay initial decision-making at a scene.
Krill wrote that those issues are reflected in findings from the federal report, including staffing limitations and operational challenges tied to coordination and response.
“We risk our lives for you even though our public officials are willing to live with these shortcomings,” Krill wrote.
He urged residents to pay attention to how public safety resources are prioritized and encouraged attendance at Wednesday’s meeting at 6 p.m. at College Hill Presbyterian Church.
Broader questions remain
While officials point to ongoing review, questions remain about how a property with repeated complaints, documented hazards and ongoing emergency responses moved through city systems without sustained intervention.
Attempts to reach the property owner to discuss resident complaints and longstanding issues were unsuccessful.
For residents and responders, the central question remains unchanged.
“How did it get this bad?” one source said.
