Bethlehem Firefighters IAFF Local 735

7 hours ago

At our December meeting, Bethlehem Firefighters IAFF Local 735 President Jimenez swore in Brother Bowers. He graduated from Allentown Fire Academy Class 25-02 this fall.

Congratulations to our newest sworn brother. Welcome to your newest family and to a new chapter of your life.

#ppffa #local735 #staffingmatters #IAFF #bethlehemsbravest ... See MoreSee Less

Bethlehem Firefighters IAFF Local 735

15 hours ago

🚨One City. One Standard. Staff The Northwest Fire Station (Company 9)🚨

**PLEASE SHARE**

Northwest Fire Station protects an area with one of the broadest mixes of community needs in Bethlehem….Moravian University, several schools, major apartment communities, established neighborhoods, hotels, LVH Muhlenberg, the Westgate medical corridor, nursing homes, Westgate Mall, and automatic aid to Lehigh Valley International Airport.

Yet Company 9 remains the only station in the city without its own Company Officer.

Engine 9 handles a wide range of calls, just like Engine 6 and Ladder 2. But all three companies are still supervised by one single officer, a concern Local 735 has formally documented with the city for the past five years.

At the moment, most of the department’s overtime is being worked by firefighters, not Company officers. Having a sworn Company Officer stafffed on all shifts at the Northwest Fire Station would not add strain to those already carrying the bulk of extra hours, it would help balance the workload while making the city safer.

Staffing Company 9 with two firefighters and one Company Officer would immediately strengthen supervision, improve on scene decision making, and end the unsafe practice of one officer covering both Northwest and Memorial stations.

While we didn’t get the four positions we hoped for this budget cycle, we have received meaningful feedback from City Council, and we appreciate their willingness to engage on staffing concerns. We fully support the city’s staffing study, it is an important step for the future. But Company 9 is a need that simply cannot wait for a long-term review.

The city and the union need to work together to figure out how to make this happen for our residents. The solution exists, it simply needs to be implemented.

Bethlehem residents in the Northwest deserve the same level of protection as every other neighborhood. Let’s staff Company 9. It’s the right thing for our community and the right time to do it.

In the last month, our posts have received over 600,000 views. We know you’re listening, thank you. We will keep advocating for your safety and ours. #IAFF #PPFFA #StaffingMatters #Local735 🇺🇸🚒 ... See MoreSee Less

Bethlehem Firefighters IAFF Local 735

3 days ago

🚨 Behind Those Warehouse Walls Is a Danger Most People Never Think About

Most people in Bethlehem never step inside the massive industrial buildings that exist throughout our city. Everyone sees the huge complexes on Commerce Center Blvd, at Majestic and LVIP. There are also major industrial sites in Northwest Bethlehem and facilities scattered throughout every neighborhood. These buildings are a major part of our city’s growth and economy, but they also bring fire and life safety risks that most residents never see.

Take a ride through these areas and look at the size of the buildings we are responsible for. Stand in front of them. Look at the scale. Walk the perimeter. When you see how enormous they are, you will immediately understand what your firefighters face.

Some of these structures cover more than a million square feet. They operate around the clock with truck traffic, heavy machinery, high rack storage and fuel loads that can turn a small problem into a life threatening emergency in minutes.

From the outside they look simple. Inside they are some of the most dangerous environments a firefighter can enter. There are long hallways that disappear into smoke. Thousands of feet of travel distance. Heat that builds extremely fast. Storage racks that can collapse. Limited exits. Zero visibility. These buildings require large amounts of manpower and coordination just to make entry and begin searching for victims, let alone control the incident.

And Bethlehem protects all of this with just 18 firefighters on duty for the entire city.

When an emergency occurs in one of these buildings, and it has happened, those 18 firefighters can be overwhelmed quickly. Warehouse fires, structural collapses, chemical leaks and trapped workers are not hypothetical to us. We have responded to them. We have seen what these events look like inside. We know how much manpower it takes to begin critical operations like gaining access, searching for victims, stretching lines, ventilating, stabilizing conditions and preventing a dangerous situation from becoming a deadly one. Two major incidents at once make it even more challenging.

During major events our neighboring departments respond to help and we are truly grateful for them. We depend on each other. But assistance from outside the city takes time to arrive and the most critical operations that shape the entire incident fall on the firefighters who are already here in Bethlehem. Right now there are simply not enough of us. Increasing staffing in Bethlehem is not only a benefit for our community but also strengthens our ability to support our neighboring departments when they need us. Better staffing in Bethlehem makes every department around us safer.

The public deserves to understand the reality. The risks inside these massive citywide facilities are enormous and your firefighters carry that responsibility with extremely limited staffing. The size has changed. The complexity has changed. The danger has changed. But our staffing has not.

This job requires people. It requires trained firefighters on scene quickly to search, rescue, stabilize and protect our community. Sprinklers do not do that. Technology does not do that. Firefighters do.

We invite our residents, City Council and city administration to visit our firehouses. See what we are up against. Look at the run volume, the responsibilities and the realities of modern firefighting in Bethlehem. Talk to the resident experts. Talk to the firefighters who respond to these buildings every single day.

Bethlehem’s industrial growth is real and it is spread across the entire city. It is time for our staffing to match the Bethlehem we live in today, not the Bethlehem of decades past.

Your safety depends on it. Our firefighters lives depend on it. And together we can make sure this city is protected the way it deserves.#IAFF #PPFFA #staffingmatters #Local735🚒 ... See MoreSee Less

Bethlehem Firefighters IAFF Local 735

4 days ago

🚨THE TRUTH ABOUT OUR NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN BETHLEHEM🚨

Modern multi story residential buildings may look impressive, but looks do not equal safety. Many of these new projects are built using lightweight Type V construction made with materials that burn faster, fail quicker, and create far more dangerous conditions for both residents and firefighters. Yes, they have sprinklers, but sprinklers DO NOT put out fires or perform rescues. They DO NOT search hallways, force doors, or remove victims. That responsibility will always fall on firefighters.

And that is the part our administration leaves out.
Ask your subject matter experts. Ask the people who respond to these buildings every single day.

Bethlehem has seen a rapid surge in multi occupancy apartment buildings over the past decade, with even more continuing to rise across our city. Higher populations and larger buildings place increasing demands on a fire department that is already stretched thin.

Local 735 will continue to educate our residents about the real fire risks tied to this level of growth. We strongly encourage our City Council members to visit our fire stations, sit down with us, talk to us, and listen to the realities of our profession. We also encourage our city administration to do the same, because these situations cannot be understood through reports or numbers alone. You have to see it, feel it, and hear it directly from the people on the front lines.

We also welcome our public. These are your firehouses. You deserve to understand how your fire department operates and why staffing matters so deeply in a growing city.

Our city continues to grow, and major projects like the coming Pembroke Village development and Walnut Street Apartments will bring even more residents and more risks. To keep this community safe, we need more firefighters. Our numbers prove this. The data is clear, the need is real, and public safety depends on it.
We remain committed to protecting this community, telling the truth, and ensuring Bethlehem residents understand what these buildings mean for public safety. #IAFF #ppffa #staffingmatters #local735 🚒🇺🇸 ... See MoreSee Less