Rachael Clarke, of the Glenside section of Abington Township, penned a poem on behalf of firefighters’ bravery during the SPS Technologies fire in Jenkintown last week.

“I just feel truly grateful to all of our First Responders for their incredible efforts to keep our community safe. I wanted to express my gratitude to them,” Clarke told Glenside Local.

Clark said she wrote the poem, titled “Sirens”, on Friday after seeing an aerial shot of the fire.

“I often write poetry and wanted to be sure I could share it with them. Over the weekend, my daughter and I put together a care package, which we delivered to Weldon on Sunday,” she said. “There was a card in there that my daughter and I made. The firefighters were very appreciative and kind.”

Her poem is below:

In related news, volunteer firefighters from the Abington Township Fire Department met at Weldon Fire Company on Tuesday, February 25 to share their stories from the SPS fire with Philadelphia-based media outlets.

“This was like nothing we’d ever seen before,” Jon Gerhard, Weldon Fire Company Deputy Chief, said. “These guys did what they could to slow the progression of the fire. We focused our efforts on getting people out of the building. We had been there before and had pre-planned for this incident. We transitioned our attack on the chemicals inside the building. Their bravery and courage, what they did was remarkable.”

Michael Jones, Assistant Chief at Abington Fire Company who also serves as an officer with the Abington Township Police Department, said SPS Technologies’ site was always on firefighters’ radar.

“I grew up in Abington, I’m a lifelong resident. You always knew about SPS. That was the one building that we never wanted to catch fire, so it’s a tremendous loss to the community,” he said. “The shared revenue is massive. I couldn’t be prouder at what our firefighters have managed to do. I had shifts with the police department right after the incident, so I haven’t slept a ton, but I wouldn’t change anything.”

Jones was put in charge of a search group to find employees still within the building, all of whom had scattered after the initial explosion.

“As we came down Highland Avenue, we could see the smoke and the glow from the building, so I knew it was going to be a long, drawn-out incident. Deputy Gerhard told me I was in charge of a search group to find those 60 people,” he said. “I had a crew situated in three access points. The crews were only in there for a couple minutes before the conditions continued to deteriorate. Deputy Gerhard and I decided to pull everyone out, regroup, and then we transitioned to an exterior attack.”

Jones noted the conditions were unlike anything he’d ever seen before.

“I’ve been in some difficult, strenuous situations. I’ve never seen a fire grow that quickly in my 20 years as a firefighter,” he said. “It’s humbling being put in that position. It was a task that I love taking on, and I’m extremely happy that we were able to account for everyone. It was a great outcome to have no injuries.”

Vincent McGurl, Captain of the Roslyn Fire Company and a Jenkintown native, said his father had been employed by SPS Technologies for 35 years.

“The economic impact is huge. Even the restaurants are going to feel the impact now that those workers aren’t around,” he said. “We all came out safe and uninjured. That was my main concern when dealing with a 600,000 sf factory. Conditions were actively worsening, there were explosions, so we got in, did what we had to do, and get out. Someone has to do it. Everyone was professional and did what needed to be done. The community was there for everyone fire company.”

Firefighters remained on scene for five days following the incident, McGurl said.

“It’s definitely a once in a lifetime incident. It’s been a long week,” Shawn Philipsen, McKinley Fire Company Chief, said. “Everyone that responded are volunteers. A lot of people sacrificed their regular work schedules to be there. I missed work on Tuesday and Wednesday. We were able to leave for a couple hours at a time.”

“I was part of the command post. I was in charge of getting the resources to put the fire out,” Keith Maslin, Chief of Weldon Fire Company Chief, said. “As the fire progressed and they needed more, we coordinated that effort to get them there. We did everything we could to get them to the scene.”

Gerry Gerhard, Weldon Fire Company Deputy Chief, said he’d been to SPS roughly 15 times over the course of his fire career, and that those fires were usually quickly contained. He credited planning and preplanning for last week’s successful response.

“We were on location in less than six minutes and attacking the fire in less than 10 minutes. Planning and preplanning is why this was a success,” he said. “It’s an incredible feat to have all of those fire departments on location without injuries. It’s the worst one I’ve ever been to, but one of the best outcomes. The community support has been immeasurable.”

Tom McAneney, Edge Hill Fire Company Chief and Director of Fire and Code Services at Abington Township, served as emergency management coordinator during the incident. Regarding public safety in the aftermath, he maintained that “everything’s being done that can be done with the appropriate agencies.”

“The DEP, EPA, and Hazmat were on site almost immediately with water monitoring. As the fire was under control, it transitioned to monitoring the facility and the neighborhood. Those results are being reviewed by the DEP and EPA to make sure everything’s been done right,” he said. “We’re confident that everything’s being done. All of our firefighters live here as well. There’s no benefit for us to hide anything. Our families, friends, and neighbors all live here. We’re doing everything we can to protect it and ensure the safety of everyone.”

Links to donate to each company are below:

• Roslyn Fire Company
• Abington Fire Company
• McKinley Fire Company
• Weldon Fire Company
• Edge Hill Fire Company

The Abington Township Police Department shared gratitude “to all the incredible businesses and individuals who dropped off food and treats last week in the wake of the SPS fire. Your kindness and generosity mean the world to us!” the department said in a post this afternoon.

“The Department is deeply appreciative of your support. Your thoughtful contributions made a real difference and helped lift our spirits,” the post said. “We apologize if we missed thanking anyone—your kindness has not gone unnoticed!”

The businesses and individuals listed in the post:

• Ed Forst and Eileen Staerk Forst
• Appel Orthodontics
• Apollo Pizza
• Giuliani’s Deli
• Carlo’s Pizza
• Mission BBQ
• Wawa – Old York Road
• Temple Beth Am
• Lee’s Hoagies
• CODY
• Applebee’s Jenkintown
• Philly Pretzel Factory
• The Highland Restaurant
• Asad’s Hot Chicken
• Wendy Thompson

Last but not least, aerial drone footage plus audio from the onset of the fire was released today by Messina Media. Check it out here and below:

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Photo of basket/feature image: Rachael Clarke