Residents grill officials over SPS Technologies fire clean up in packed meeting

JENKINTOWN, Pa. - Emotions running high Monday night in Jenkintown.  

Residents packed into standing room only meeting at the Jenkintown Library to grill state environmental officials about the clean up response to one of the largest commercial fires the County has ever seen.

What they're saying:

"We want our kids to play outside. I want my dog to back outside," said a Jenkintown resident.

The state detailed how air monitoring and water samples around the community have been deemed safe after the fire. 

The cause of fire that burned for six days and forced voluntary evacuations is still unknown.

"Not one report that I got indicated that there was a hazardous substance associated with a Tier 2 chemical or really any other chemical we detected in any of the communities" said Brian Moore, Director of Emergency Response for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

In a statement on its website, SPS says: 

• Air and water monitoring continues. SPS still has 15 air monitors in place. Six monitors circle the plant itself; the remainder are placed in the surrounding communities. Air monitoring results remain stable, with no detections of chemicals or other parameters at levels of concern in the community
• SPS is developing its plan for future demolition work at the site. Information will be shared to keep the community informed on the plan.

However, many residents say that’s not good enough. 

They want the company to pay for neighborhood-wide soil testing.

"You say the soil is fine. The debris that is still littered around our neighborhood, is it or is it not OK" said one resident.

Many homeowners reported finding charred chunks of debris that reigned down on homes during the fire. 

Residents were told not to touch it. But weeks later it’s still there.

"How are they managing the debris pick up that’s now blowing back on my yard and blowing around town when our kids run around and play and pick stuff up" said another Jenkintown resident.

"The stuff that’s going to hurt my children. Is it in my furniture, is it in my carpet. We need to know how to deal with a long term risk. You are not a doctor but maybe you have information about the stuff what we were exposed to" added another resident.

No one from SPS Technologies was at Monday night’s meeting.

State officials say they are continuing to work with SPS on cleanup. 

It’s unclear how long that will take.

What’s Next:

The company also announced it has changed its environmental clean up company over the weekend to a company called TRC.

According to SPS, " Immediately after the fire broke out, SPS employed emergency contractors to engage in environmental sampling and monitoring in and around the SPS facility. Now that emergency response activities are concluding, SPS is transitioning air monitoring from Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health (CTEH) to TRC Environmental Corporation (TRC)."