Glenside Fresh Start, a grassroots information and awareness organization, held a meeting on Sunday, September 7 regarding SPS Technologies’ plans to build a new aerospace fasteners facility at 301 Highland Avenue in Jenkintown, the site of a massive fire in February which took days to extinguish completely.
SPS will be sharing their plans during a community meeting on Thursday, September 25 at the Abington School District Middle School Little Theater.
“We’re going to pull together all our available resources to ensure the rebuild doesn’t happen,” Colby Keyser, a Glenside resident and founder of Glenside Fresh Start, said. “SPS has subjected the residents of our neighborhood to hazards for the 100 years they’ve resided here. This fire has just shed a full light on it and it would be negligent for us to ignore this for environmental and health reasons for everyone in this community.”
Demolition efforts began in February and continued through August.
Glenside Fresh Start shared with Glenside Local the following notes from their meeting:
Community Concerns (not an exhaustive list):
- Cause of the explosion and fire remains unclear; without answers, residents question safety.
- Communication with a former SPS worker suggests an explosion occurred in an automated (non-human operated) center, possibly from a transformer. Otherwise deaths most certainly would have occurred.
- Health & safety impacts: Residents deeply concerned about what they inhaled during the fire, as fire suppression systems were offline and the fire continued to burn for one week.
- Worker safety: Past safety concerns had been raised by SPS’ own employees.
- Demolition debris: What is happening with the demolished materials?
- Is the debris being transported offsite?
- Is the debris being tested and reported?
- What is the safety protocol for transporting debris through populated residential neighborhoods? SPS fire website remains silent on the demolition phase of the factory.
Community Stipulations if Rebuild Occurs:
- Facility Design & Location
- Significantly smaller footprint, ground floor-only, minimal visibility from neighborhoods.
- Increased setbacks from all sensitive receptors – residences, public parks, roads and Tacony Creek/watershed area.
- Forested areas surrounding the building so it can’t easily be seen
- Environmental & Safety Protections
- Full cleanup of Tookany Creek and riparian buffer.
- Township to acquire all of Hallowell Park and watershed land after SPS remediation.
- Third-party air/water monitoring system with continuous reporting.
- Weekly public reports on emissions.
- Community Contributions
- Financial support for all school districts (Cheltenham, Jenkintown, Abington).
- Contributions to local fire departments.
- Reassessment for higher tax contributions to Abington Township.
- Transparency & Engagement
- Regular resident updates on factory operations.
- Involvement of Jenkintown EAC and other community stakeholders.
- Public acknowledgment of safety measures.
In April, Glenside Fresh Start launched a website and published a Change.org petition titled “PREVENT Rebuilding of SPS Technologies in Abington, PA”. You can read our previous coverage of their position on the matter here.
In May, concerned residents submitted a letter encouraging Abington Township officials to consider a different path forward regarding the potential rebuild of the facility.
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