Lehighton borough officials want to see the properties where a fire destroyed homes in the 300 block of North First Street cleaned up.

Borough Manager Dane DeWire told borough council on Monday that the owner of the properties hired a public adjuster.

Once he came forward, DeWire said the borough told the owner that they are in violation if the houses are not repaired or cleaned up.

Councilwoman Autumn Abelovsky questioned since one home is already torn down, if they couldn’t at least get rid of the rubble.

Abelovsky noted that the borough is set to have 10,000 people on First Street for an event, yet there are pieces of rubble falling.

DeWire agreed and said it needs to be cleaned up.

After the meeting, he said “the borough would like both properties to be brought into compliance, both for safety and visuals.

“The building which has been taken down must be cleared from the site, and the grading must be properly completed,” DeWire said. “The borough is still waiting for escrow to be posted for the house next door, which suffered less damage.

“That property requires some plan of action moving forward as well. That plan of action can include a plan to demolish, or a plan to repair.”

In July, DeWire discussed with council the fire on June 20 that destroyed homes on 322-324 N. First St.

DeWire told council he spoke with the fire department and fire chief before 11 p.m. the day of the incident.

He said he was on site to meet the fire chief at 8:30 a.m. the following day to review the damage. By 9 a.m., the state police fire marshal was on site.

Borough engineer Vanessa Nedrick said the building was a safety risk to pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic on Route 209 traveling through Lehighton and that it should be demolished immediately.

He said Northeast Industrial Services had the front-half of the building on the ground by 4:30 p.m., stabilized the structure, and completed the remainder of the demolition on June 24.

DeWire said that while the original demo fee was $12,000, it only wound up costing $7,500, as Northeast provided the borough a discounted demo fee. DeWire added he was hopeful the borough would get reimbursed.

Borough fire Chief Patrick Mriss thanked the rehab unit, borough police department, Public Works Department, Light & Power Department, DeWire, all the mutual aid departments that responded, the fire police that assisted, Lehighton Ambulance, and all the community for their assistance for providing food and drink to the responders.

Borough police Chief Troy Abelovsky praised the fire department for how it handled the fire, which he said was due to the department’s dedication to training.

Troy Abelovsky also acknowledged “the outpouring of support from the community.”