{"id":11017339,"date":"2026-01-02T07:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T12:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/?p=11017339&preview=true&preview_id=11017339"},"modified":"2026-01-02T11:13:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T16:13:46","slug":"bethlehem-fire-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/2026\/01\/02\/bethlehem-fire-update\/","title":{"rendered":"Will anyone be charged in Bethlehem Five 10 Flats fire? Officials have decided"},"content":{"rendered":"

No one will be charged in last spring’s fire at a major south Bethlehem apartment and commercial building, which was caused by careless smoking, police say.<\/p>\n

The fire at Five10 Flats<\/a> in the 500 block of East Third Street displaced more than 100 residents and closed the entire structure for several months.<\/p>\n

“Bethlehem police detectives met with the Northampton County district attorney\u2019s office to discuss the facts of the case,” spokesperson Capt. William Audelo said recently. “It was advised criminal charges would not be recommended. Therefore, no charges were filed.”<\/p>\n

Started by “improperly discarded smoking materials<\/a>” on the rooftop deck, the fire spread due to high winds and caused extensive roof, smoke and water damage, officials said shortly after the May 2 blaze. The community held fundraisers to support the displaced renters.<\/p>\nJohn Callahan, business development manager for Peron Development \u2014 which owns the property \u2014 previously said building managers uncovered security footage showing a resident smoking on a rooftop deck and putting out a cigarette butt in a planter.<\/p>\n

Repairs have been underway and are expected to wrap up soon. Callahan, a former Bethlehem mayor, recently said officials plan to resume renting apartments Feb. 1, with a goal to have the entire building completed around April 30 for residential occupancy.<\/p>\n

Of the first-floor commercial spaces, Mexican restaurant El Jefe’s Taqueria<\/a> reopened in late August. Callahan said Mr. Lee\u2019s Noodles could open early in 2026.<\/p>\n

A coffee shop is expected to replace the Starbucks, Callahan said, with plans also to add a food spot at the former HandHeldz, which closed in 2024, before the fire.<\/p>\n

The building, which includes 95 apartments at 510 E. Third St., was quickly evacuated and no one was hurt in the fire. Nearly 90 firefighters from the city and several regional departments battled the four-alarm blaze, which was fanned by the high wind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The fire at Five10 Flats in the 500 block of East Third Street displaced more than 100 residents and closed the entire structure for several months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7976886,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-01-02T12:00:33Z","apple_news_api_id":"ff03657a-d673-4705-bdc4-3a6989bbeb57","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-01-02T16:13:51Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A_wNletZzRwW9xDppibvrVw","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"subheadline":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[572,564,565,6761],"tags":[],"feature":[],"location":[463,459,113],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[66],"class_list":["post-11017339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-public-safety","category-local-news","category-news","category-top-stories-tmc","location-bethlehem","location-northampton-county","location-pennsylvania"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"572","primary_tag":0,"print_workflow_body":"","print_workflow_exported_ts":"","print_workflow_exported_username":"","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":"","really_short_title":"","short_title":"","syndication_source":{"canonical":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/2026\/01\/02\/bethlehem-fire-update","id":"cG9zdDo4NjgyMjY=","siteName":"Slot","syndicationSourceStack":[{"canonical":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/2026\/01\/02\/bethlehem-fire-update","id":"cG9zdDo4NjgyMjY=","siteName":"Slot","sourceUrl":"https:\/\/slot.medianewsgroup.com"}],"source_url":"https:\/\/slot.medianewsgroup.com","print_workflow_exported_ts":true},"market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":7976886,"title":"TMC-L-Five10FlatsRolenPics-0503-02","filename":"TMC-L-Five10FlatsRolenPics-0503-02-5.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/TMC-L-Five10FlatsRolenPics-0503-02-5.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/2025\/05\/02\/south-bethlehem-apartment-fire-510-flats\/attachment\/7976886\/","alt":"","author":"2","description":"","caption":"The roof of the Five 10 Flats apartment complex at 510 E. 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