Bethlehem Public Safety Committee Reviews Fire/EMS Study — October 20, 2026

On October 20, 2026, the Bethlehem City Council Public Safety Committee met in an extended evening hearing for the sole agenda item: presentation of the city-initiated study of fire and EMS operations. Chairman Justin Eamon presided; committee members Joe Daniels and Hillary Quietek attended, joined by Council President Rachel Leon and city solicitor Stephanie Stewart. Business Administrator Eric Evans presented on behalf of the administration, with fire and EMS leadership available to answer questions. The session was informational only — no votes were taken — and public comment was reserved until after council questions. The regular council meeting was delayed as a result.

Study Background and Timeline

• The last prior fire study was completed in 1995 and did not include EMS. The RFP was issued in September 2025, and CPSM, a Washington, D.C. firm, was selected after interviews in December 2025 and January 2026. City Council approved the agreement on February 3, 2026; the notice to proceed was issued February 17; and the kickoff was February 26.
• CPSM collected data in March, conducted EMS and fire site visits April 13–16, delivered a first draft June 30, and after requests for missing RFP-required information delivered later drafts. The final report was distributed October 16, 2026. The report is 176 pages plus two data packs of 55 and 46 pages.
• The administration said CPSM concluded that Bethlehem has a strong, professionally managed emergency services system and that recommendations were intended to strengthen an already capable organization rather than correct systemic deficiencies.

Findings Presented

• Apparatus and fleet: Since 2020, the city has appropriated $8.597 million for replacement apparatus, which CPSM called a best practice. The fire frontline fleet and ordered apparatus total almost $10 million, compared with $4 million in 2019; new apparatus orders have 48–53 month lead times. A 2026 command vehicle and fire inspector vehicle were added. EMS fleet management was assessed as appropriate and proactive; CPSM recommended continuing the ambulance replacement schedule and ordering early to account for production delays.
• Facilities: All four fire stations are between 42 and 72 years old and need continued capital investment. CPSM recommended considering construction of a new fire station in southeastern Bethlehem to address industrial, warehousing, and commercial growth, potentially moving Engine 3 from Schweder. EMS station locations provide reasonable coverage; no closures or relocations were recommended. Facilities capital includes $1 million in 2026 and another $1.5 million in 2027–28, for a total of $2.5 million including the initial $1 million. The Eastern Avenue station addition placeholder is about $500,000 and is expected to grow.
• Response patterns: Fire calls in Bethlehem fell 21% over the 2016–2025 study period, while national fires fell 54% since 1980. Bethlehem had 4,603 fire calls in 2025, about 12.6 per day; total fire calls were down 13% since 2017. Medical assists were 29% of fire calls; false alarms were 1,334 calls, equal to 29% of calls, and rose 54%; structure fires were 2% of calls and down 21%. Fire system resiliency was strong: 75% of fire calls had no overlapping call, 96% had zero or one, and 99% had zero or two; 94% of calls were handled in under an hour.
• EMS demand is heavier: 2025 EMS calls reached 12,900, approaching 13,000. Mutual aid responses into the city fell from nearly 1,000 in 2022 to the 600s after four paramedics were added. EMS was assessed as having moderate-to-high resiliency pressure: only 37% of EMS calls had no overlap, and 75% of hours had at least one EMS call. Peak EMS demand is daytime, particularly 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
• Response times: Dispatch time increased after dispatch moved to Northampton County in 2019, but improved from about 4.5 minutes to about 3.5 minutes in 2023–2025. Turnout time held at 2.1–2.4 minutes; travel time averaged 5.8–6.2 minutes. CPSM noted these remained above NFPA 1710 benchmarks and recommended locally tailored performance goals. The administration described NFPA standards as voluntary benchmarks, not law, and said response decisions should be based on local risk, resources, and community expectations.
• Staffing: Fire suppression is budgeted at 24 per platoon across four platoons, or 96 positions. From July 1 to October 1, average vacancies were 0.57 per platoon and estimated filled positions were 23 per platoon, but average reporting was 17.8 per platoon. The gap was attributed to vacation, sick leave, injuries, training, and academy assignments. Sick leave in 2025 averaged 11.6 days per fire employee versus 8.3 for all city employees, about 40% higher; the administration said matching the city average could recover about 317 shifts per year.
• CPSM recommended staffing minimums consistent with NFPA 1710 — about 21–22 per platoon in the near/midterm and 27–28 longer term — rather than a single number of added positions. Options discussed included filling vacancies faster, using summer/winter academies, a three-platoon model, part-time staffing, automatic aid, and additional EMS peak staffing.
• EMS staffing recommendations included considering 24-hour staffing for the peak-time medic unit and expanding the three-day-a-week peak unit to seven days with 12-hour shifts during appropriate peak periods.
• CPSM’s final three-part strategy was to maintain or modestly strengthen minimum fire staffing, establish formal automatic aid agreements with Allentown and Easton for higher-risk fires, and add staffing resources to EMS during peak demand periods.

Process and Governance Discussion

• Fire Chief Griffin read a statement saying he would not use the meeting to debate staffing positions. He said recommendations include labor, legislative, and operational matters, and implementation will be phased. He identified priorities as maintaining the highest staffing possible, filling vacant positions as quickly as possible, maximizing personnel reporting each shift, and providing training, equipment, and safety for personnel.
• Chairman Eamon reminded attendees that council is not a party to collective bargaining and that the meeting was for listening, fact-finding, and understanding the independent report.
• Councilwoman Daniels raised process concerns: she found differences between the CPSM report and the administration’s presentation, said she requested a CPSM presenter and a copy of the presentation, and said a portion of a September 1 council discussion was missing from the public recording and minutes. She said she did not receive responses to her requests. Council President Leon and Mayor Reynolds said a CPSM appearance could be arranged through formal council action; Mayor Reynolds said the administration was open to a Zoom or in-person meeting with CPSM if council requested it.
• Councilman Callahan asked the administration to consider adding at least four firefighter positions in the upcoming budget. Mayor Reynolds said adding positions was under consideration but was one of many factors; the budget was expected to be released in about two weeks.
• Vice President Laird requested a list of recommendations requiring collective bargaining and asked whether a written performance agreement exists with Northampton County for dispatch services. The administration said it was not aware of one and would research the matter.
• A factual discrepancy was noted during the meeting: one public speaker referred to the 510 Flats fire as occurring in 2025; council members clarified it occurred in May 2024.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Bob, a Bethlehem resident, criticized the administration’s presentation as heavily paraphrased and said it omitted information. He urged council members and residents to read the full study.
• A concerned resident detailed risk findings: ISO class 2, fire department capability score 36 out of 50, personnel score 9 out of 15, and training score 4 out of 9. The speaker said the effective response force for a single-family house fire is 8 firefighters versus an NFPA recommendation of 16, 27 for apartments or strip malls, and 42 for high rises. The speaker also said nearly one-quarter of 2025 fire calls overlapped with another call, that EMS had two or more calls during nearly half of every hour, and that automatic aid should not be treated as a substitute for local staffing. The speaker urged a transparent funding plan, measurable staffing goals, and a realistic implementation timeline.
• Daryl Higgins, a lieutenant on the first platoon, said daily experience is not fully captured by the numbers. He cited three calls within five minutes, mandatory overtime, officers mandated for 48 hours, and arriving at a house fire with only one engine while other crews were committed. He urged council members to visit firehouses and talk to firefighters.
• Dana Grubb, a resident, described a childhood house fire and former work with EMS. He said the 510 Flats fire displaced or evacuated 135 residents and required support from seven outside departments; he also said Bethlehem had more city firefighters in the 1970s even though Bethlehem Steel fire services protected about 20% of the city’s land. He argued that development and population growth require a sufficient emergency response and that the IAFF and CPSM studies show what needs to be done.
• A speaker who said she was a city council person last year said she had proposed budget amendments to hire four firefighters based on the IAFF study and the Thanksgiving weekend incident with three simultaneous fires. She said the CPSM study cost approximately $80,000–$90,000, was originally expected in June, and recommends 28 additional firefighters and an additional fire station. She asked why CPSM was not present, raised the Northwest Station officer issue, and said hiring firefighters is ultimately a budget decision for council.
• Diana Rodriguez, 315 Roch Street, thanked firefighters for responding to calls at her address, including for an older neighbor who forgot about cooking. She expressed concern that increasing housing density in old, close-built RT districts raises fire risk and said the city should ensure it can protect current residents before approving more density.
• Robert A. Bowden, a member of Local 735 and a 16-year firefighter, said the 1995 study, an IAFF study, and the CPSM study all point to manpower and time as central issues. He said the city once had about 20-some firefighters on duty and roughly 2,000 calls per year, while similar staffing levels now face nearly 5,000 calls. He also cited the heightened cancer risk for firefighters and said a larger workforce would reduce individual risk. He asked for a progressive, fiscally responsible plan rather than delay.
• Lou Jimenez, president of Local 735, said he was disappointed the presentation covered only six of 48 recommendations and was not made by the study authors. He said budgeted staffing of 24 per platoon has not actually been achieved on shifts for years; sick-leave criticism is repeated; fire staffing cannot be compared directly with police or EMS; since 2009 the city has lost at least nine budgeted positions, one engine company, and one firehouse; and call totals fell partly because firefighters were removed from high-priority medical calls. He argued minimum staffing should be treated as a public safety issue, not only a collective-bargaining issue.
• Stephen Antalix said a retired firefighter told him the city had 124 firefighters when it was smaller and now has 92 while growing. He recalled prior testimony that a firefighter could be required to be in two places at once, which could cost a life, and urged council to put pressure on the administration to bring the fire department to an adequate level.

Key Outcomes

• No formal votes, motions, or budget decisions were made; the meeting was informational only.
• Council can make a motion at a regular council meeting to formally request a CPSM presentation or Q&A. The administration said it would be open to arranging a Zoom or in-person appearance.
• The administration said adding firefighter positions was under consideration for the upcoming 2027 budget, with the budget expected to be released in about two weeks.
• Council will continue its review. Vice President Laird requested a list of recommendations requiring collective bargaining and research into the Northampton County dispatch performance agreement.
• Public comment was extended to all who wished to speak, and the regular council meeting started late as a result.