Easton is trying to help many of the 45 people left homeless after a Memorial Day afternoon fire spread rapidly among 15 homes in the city’s West Ward, Mayor Sal Panto Jr. said Wednesday.

“When we talk about building codes and requiring people to live up to the codes, you can see the reason,” Panto said during a city council meeting held remotely at Easton Area Neighborhood Center on South Side — the first council meeting since the May 29 blaze.

The mayor said the fire spread quickly “from one roof to the other” due to the wind and the lack of modern firewalls between the historic homes.

No residents were injured. In all, 45 people, many of them renters, were affected along 15 properties in the 900 block of Ferry Street, one block from Northampton Street.

“What it brought to light very frankly is we don’t have housing, and we just don’t have housing for these people,” Panto said.

Panto also said it is likely all the houses will be demolished, though city officials are awaiting an engineer’s report for guidance on whether all properties will have to be razed, and what the process will look like.

City administrator Luis Campos told council the report will be detailed and complex, in part because it involves multiple insurance carriers.

Deputy fire Chief Chad Gruver said the investigation into what caused the fire is wrapping up but acknowledged pinning down a specific cause might be difficult. He said there was no evidence of any type of natural gas involvement, and no outdoor grilling took place in the houses at or near where the fire started.

“It was pretty easy to narrow down the area of origin, but the specific cause is more difficult,” said Gruver, adding fire marshals from neighboring departments joined the investigation.

Officials said the properties are not in imminent danger of collapsing, but the city codes department could rule a danger and force demolition if bad weather impacts the hardest hit homes.

Panto said many tenants did not carry renters insurance, “so they’re very thankful for anything we can give them.” He also said donations of furniture are not sought yet, as the residents don’t have any place to put it. The city has posted ways people can help the fire victims on its website, easton-pa.com.

He said people have been coming to City Hall seeking housing help; the city is working with nonprofits to try to provide accommdations.

“These are very tragic stories … we want to make sure that we address them,” Panto said.

Panto also warned fire victims and neighbors not to sign claims papers or other documents without checking or unless they know with whom they are dealing. He said people can call City Hall for help.

Morning Call reporter Anthony Salamone can be reached at asalamone@mcall.com.