Union leaders and Bethlehem residents are urging officials to add firefighters after an IAFF study found staffing below NFPA recommendations and response times short of national benchmarks

By Lindsay Weber
The Morning Call

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Bethlehem firefighters and their supporters called on City Council this week to add firefighters, following a study that found the city’s level of staffing inadequate.

The study conducted by the International Association of Fire Fighters, which used city data from 2021 through 2024, said the city’s level of staffing is below levels recommended by the National Fire Protection Association. The department is budgeted for 104 personnel but should have at least 113 firefighters to adequately protect the growing city from fire dangers, Local 735 union President Lou Jimenez said.

The city staffs 18 firefighters citywide per shift, below the 30 recommended by the NFPA. Further, Bethlehem’s minimum staffing level for one engine is two firefighters and one officer, below the NFPA’s recommendation of at least three firefighters and one officer on one engine, the report states.

City firefighters also are responding to high-priority incidents within four minutes 80% of the time, below the 90% benchmark set by the NFPA, the report states.

On Tuesday evening, several city firefighters told City Council members that they risk their lives every day to protect residents, and fear tragedy could strike if the city does not improve its level of staffing. They called on council members to support their call and introduce budget amendments that would add firefighters to the city’s payroll.

“We have less firefighters now than we had 50 years ago,” said Robert Imboden, a vice president of IAFF Local 735. “That is going to lead to burnout.”

“If nothing changes it is not a question of whether a preventable tragedy will occur, it’s a question of when,” said Rose Jimenez, Lou Jimenez’s wife.

“To hear these men talk about staff shortages and firehouses that are not properly staffed, it is very disappointing and as a father and a resident, I feel cheated to be honest,” said Anthony Castillo, a Bethlehem resident.

City Council member Grace Crampsie Smith vowed to introduce an amendment to the city’s 2026 budget that would add four firefighters to the department.

Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds was absent from Tuesday’s meeting. City business administrator Eric Evans said the city is conducting its own study into the fire department’s staffing and efficiency levels, and expects to present the results next summer. He cautioned City Council members against using a one-time source of revenue to cover the cost of hiring four firefighters, which he estimated would cost the city around $500,000 next year if the council moves forward with Crampsie Smith’s amendment.

Bethlehem City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday for a budget hearing on the city’s public safety budget. Local IAFF 735 has urged the public to show up to Thursday’s meeting and demand adequate staffing. The city will hold a meeting to vote on budget amendments on Dec. 4 and hold a final vote on the 2026 budget on Dec. 16, according to City Council President Michael Colon.

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