Last updated: Feb. 19, 3:20 p.m.
All Abington School District schools and offices have been cleared to open on Thursday, Feb. 20, following the fire at SPS Technologies, according to the district. The Cheltenham School District anticipates a return to normal operations on Thursday, as well, according to that district.
Jenkintown School District has not yet announced whether schools will open on Thursday.
Further updates will be provided at the township website at abingtonpa.gov/SPSupdates.
Original article follows
ABINGTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Firefighters from 68 companies, mostly volunteers, worked for more than 12 hours through Monday night to beat back a fire at the massive SPS Technologies building in Jenkintown.
Residents within a one-mile radius of the site were asked to shelter in place. Township and borough emergency officials heightened the alert for residents within five blocks of the site, advising a voluntary evacuation. However, both advisories were lifted at 11 a.m. Wednesday.
Firefighters were called to SPS Technologies, located at 301 Highland Ave. in Jenkintown, around 9:45 p.m. Monday. Abington Township officials said multiple explosions followed in the facility.
Officials said all 60 people on duty Monday night got out safely. The exact cause of the fire is under investigation. The Environmental Protection Agency and ATF's National Response Team are assisting. No criminal activity is suspected, officials said.
Video from newsgathering partner NBC10
The fire grew to three alarms within an hour, and it was declared a four-alarm blaze around 1 a.m. Tuesday. Firefighters thought it was under control later Tuesday morning, but officials said conditions changed around 10:30 a.m., and there was a flare-up in a difficult-to-access part of the building.
The building is more than 100 years old, and the facility is huge, at 560,000 square feet.
“It's its own little city, that you could get inside and be lost. And the ceilings are so high and the noise is so loud, and you can't tell what time of day it is in there. It's always the same lighting,” said Nick Dianello, a neighbor who interned at SPS 15 years ago.
“And the smell. I mean — even just living in this area, you know the smell when you're close to SPS and the winds change. You can smell those nickel shavings in the air.”
Fire officials said that age and size made their work more difficult. High winds held firefighters back, blowing the water from their hoses away from the fire. The sprinkler system was out of service, though SPS followed all safety precautions, according to officials, including on-site fire brigade.
Crews had the fire back under control a few hours later, but there were lingering concerns about the harsh chemicals used at the site in the manufacturing of airplane bolts and fasteners.
Citing changing conditions and concerns about air quality, Abington Police Chief Patrick Malloy and other emergency management officials decided to raise the alert higher for homes and businesses closest to the site of the fire. "After consulting with hazmat, DEP and the EPA, we thought that it would be prudent that we would have a voluntary evacuation of a five-block radius from where the fire started."
Map of evacuation area
Map of shelter-in-place order
By 4 p.m. Tuesday, the evacuation had almost completely finished — some self-evacuating and some using Abington school buses to take up the offer to shelter at the Cheltenham High School auditorium, according to officials. The evacuation affected nearly 250 homes.
Hazmat crews, as well as officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, are continuing to monitor the air and water quality. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health has dispatched city inspectors to the area to collect samples.
Jenkintown, Abington and Cheltenham school districts were closed Tuesday, as well as private and parochial schools in the area. All Abington Township and Jenkintown schools will be closed Wednesday as well.
SEPTA's Lansdale-Doylestown, Warminster and West Trenton rail lines were suspended on Tuesday. Service has since been restored.
Updates will be provided at the township website at abingtonpa.gov/SPSupdates, and on township social media on Facebook, Instagram and X. Any change to the shelter-in-place will be communicated through the Ready Montco alert system to those within a one-mile radius.