At 5:00 a.m. on April 4th, 2023, a worker arriving at Anthem Propane called the Northampton 911 Center reporting smoke and flame at a commercial structure located at 1550 Lehigh Drive, West Easton.
The first firefighting unit from Wilson Borough arrived within 9 minutes of the call and immediately raised the situation to a 3-alarm fire in order to seek more assistance from other communities with additional firefighting equipment and personnel.
By 5:30 a.m., with explosions being heard from the burning area of the warehouse now fully engulfed, residents from West Easton could see a huge plume of black smoke in the dark early morning sky lit with an orange glow.
Many residents drove or walked to East Street. From there they could look down upon the industrial complex on Lehigh Drive and see the area below engulfed in flame. The situation was eventually raised to 4 alarms.
More than 24 fire companies from 3 Pennsylvania counties and New Jersey eventually provided assistance. It took 5 1/2 hours before the fire was declared under control.
It was reported 12 businesses operating in the warehouse were burned out.
News agencies from Baltimore to Pittsburgh reported on the fire.
Thank you to the Fire Departments that spent hours fighting the massive fire in West Easton Borough.
Thank you to the Police, Emergency Personnel, and all the many, many neighboring companies that helped. Today and everyday they dedicate their time and talent to keep us all safe. Thank you very much to all the helpers and volunteers!
Thank you to all that donated food and water to the emergency workers: the Red Cross, Wawa, Weis Markets, Smartivities Showcase, and anyone else that donated.