Residents urged to evacuate area near huge blaze at SPS Technologies in Jenkintown

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Residents in a designated area near the fire at an aerospace product manufacturing facility in Jenkintown are urged to voluntarily evacuate as of Tuesday afternoon.

The evacuation shelter is at the auditorium at Cheltenham High School at 500 Rices Mill Road. The impacted area includes:

• Stewart Avenue
• Runnymede Avenue
• Florence Avenue between Runnymede Avenue and West Avenue
• Highland Avenue between Hillside Ave and West Avenue
• Rodman Avenue between Walnut Street and Runnymede Avenue
• Hillside Avenue between Florence Avenue and Walnut Street
• Myrtle Avenue between Runnymede Avenue and Rodman Avenue

Emergency responders are going door-to-door to assist with evacuation. Residents can call 610-635-4300 if they need transportation to the shelter. Leashed and crated pets are allowed.

SPS Technologies went up in flames Monday night, prompting a shelter-in-place order within a 1-mile radius and multiple school closings.

Workers evacuated the facility. There were no injuries.

Abington Township Deputy Police Chief Chris Porter said that although first responders have the blaze under control, and so far air quality readings show no signs of toxicity levels, a flare-up earlier in the day created “a heavy smoke condition.”

“After they got the smoke plume controlled, the unified command made the decision that we should take the opportunity to allow people to self evacuate in areas downwind from the fire for their own protection,” he said.

Witnesses reported an explosion at SPS Technologies at 301 Highland Ave. shortly after 9:30 p.m.

First responders arrived as the fire breached the roof and multiple explosions rocked the property. The blaze reached 4-alarm status shortly after midnight as firefighters from 68 fire companies swarmed the area to battle the raging inferno.

The fire is largely contained, but the scene is active as of Tuesday afternoon. The Abington Township Police Department and the township’s fire marshal office are investigating the cause.

“The shelter in place is still intact right now, and it’s going to remain there until we can determine that it is safe,” Abington Township Fire Marshal Chris Platz said at a press conference Tuesday morning.

What is the impact of the SPS Technologies fire on transit, schools and air quality?

SEPTA has suspended service on three Regional Rail Lines including Lansdale/Doylestown, Warminster and West Trenton. The Abington School District, Cheltenham School District, Jenkintown School District and all nearby private schools are closed.

Abington and Jenkintown school districts will remain closed Wednesday.

In a post on X, Gov. Josh Shapiro said the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is on the scene with local hazmat teams monitoring any threats to the public. Drinking water has not been impacted.

A spokesperson for the DEP said the state agency is “working with local hazmat teams to monitor air quality, water runoff, and hazardous materials for public health risks.” The agency told residents to follow local authorities, including the Abington Police Department, for updates and instructions.

“We are confident that most if not all the runoff is held on site in retention basins and in holding tanks,” Abington Fire Company Chief Mike Jones said at the press conference. “The floor drains in the chemical areas drain into those tanks. So the cricks and the water supplies around the site are not affected.”

Emergency agencies from Abington, Cheltenham and Jenkintown are coordinating with regional support from the Bucks, Chester and Montgomery counties. Aqua and SEPTA are assisting with response efforts as well.

“Air monitoring will continue throughout the day and no concerns have been detected thus far,” Montgomery County Commissioner Jamila Winder said at Tuesday’s “State of the County” address.

Coryn Wolk, a PhD student at University of Delaware who researches industrial disasters and governance, said she is concerned that officials are not communicating with the public what chemicals they are testing for and where they are testing.

“For the people who received [the shelter in place order], were they given any instructions besides stay inside. Like, you know, turning off intake vents? If they needed to go outside, what should they do?’” Wolk said.

Residents under evacuation orders should be instructed about whether they need respiratory protection, Wolk said. She is also concerned about the guidance evacuees will receive when they return to the area regarding cleaning their cars or homes of ash that could have toxic chemical contamination.

“If you have a toddler and they’re touching the side of the car, the minimum, kind of safe dose for a lot of these [chemicals] on their own is very, very low,” she said. “So it wouldn’t take much to have a harmful dose from exposure to stuff in your yard, your kid touching the car and then touching their mouth. And I know they don’t want to cause fear or panic or whatever, but the answer to that is not to just give no information or assume that things are going to be fine.”

What is SPS Technologies?

The Standard Press Steel Company was first incorporated in 1903. It purchased the 32-acre property in Jenkintown in 1920 from Wharton Switch Works.

In 1978, the company changed its name to SPS Technologies. In 2023, the EPA issued a $109,000 fine on SPS Technologies for numerous violations regarding its failure to properly close, store and label hazardous material.

An EPA inspector observed opened containers of filter cake sludge from the wastewater treatment unit and various toxic liquids. The agency also cited the company for its failure to maintain adequate contingency plans in the case of an emergency.

SPS Technologies did have a fire brigade on shift working to immediately suppress the fire.

“We have pre-planned that building over the years multiple times and we were aware of what chemicals were in there,” Jones said. “We had concerns that if some of the heat treating chemicals were to mix, they could form arsenic which could be in the air and the smoke that was coming off of the fire.”

Firefighters concentrated their efforts to keep the fire away from harmful chemicals. The cold temperatures and high winds created difficult conditions, but the crews were able to quell most of the flames by morning.

“There were no injuries to any responding personnel. Although we’re not sure with those hazardous materials that all of our first responders were exposed to,” Abington Township Police Chief Patrick Molloy said. “Thankfully, nobody needed to be treated, but we just have some concerns about that.”

Molloy said the business staffs roughly 500 workers from the nearby boroughs and townships.

“There were just really good paying jobs and [what] they’re doing was really important work — with the military and also the commercial aerospace industry. So the impact on a lot of lives is significant,” Molloy said.