BETHLEHEM, Pa. — City leaders have approved a new independent review of Bethlehem’s fire and emergency medical services operations aimed at improving response coverage, staffing efficiency, and long-term planning.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Bethlehem City Council voted to hire Center for Public Safety Management LLC to conduct a full fire and EMS performance and resource study.
The contract — capped at $82,740 — will evaluate:
- Fire and EMS apparatus and equipment
- Station locations and response patterns
- Staffing levels and shift deployment
- Maintenance operations and call volume trends
- Paramedic response coverage
City officials say the goal is to take a data-driven look at how resources are being used and where gaps may exist as emergency call volumes continue to change.
How the consultant was selected
Bethlehem issued a formal request for proposals earlier this year. Submissions were reviewed and scored by a city committee, with top firms advancing to interviews before CPSM was chosen.
Council documents cited the firm’s national experience in emergency services planning, noting its reputation for objective operational analysis.
Why this study matters
City leaders emphasized that this review goes beyond recent evaluations by firefighter labor organizations, which primarily focused on staffing levels alone.
This new assessment will look at the entire emergency response system — combining staffing, equipment placement, station coverage, and real-world response data — to determine how effectively the city is protecting residents.
Officials acknowledged that previous data has pointed to staffing shortages that could impact coverage during peak call times.
Push for additional firefighters continues
Councilmember Bryan Callahan reiterated his support for increasing firefighter staffing, saying the city should continue identifying funding opportunities as budget discussions move forward.
Callahan has consistently raised concerns about response capacity and has advocated for adding personnel to keep pace with growing service demands.
