Representative Madeleine Dean of Glenside is planning to advocate for federal resources to help SPS Technologies rebuild its factory due to its importance to the local economy.
According to WHYY, Dean’s father-in-law worked at the facility during World War II.
“These are really important jobs, and this industry is very important nationally for aviation, national security and other issues,” Dean, a member of the House appropriations committee, said. “I’m going to be part of a voice that says, ‘Let’s make sure we encourage SPS Technologies to rebuild here to make sure we re-employ those who have grievously lost their employment here.'”
While the future of the site remains uncertain, Montgomery County commissioners also highlighted the company’s importance to the local economy at this morning’s board meeting, WHYY said.
“The county is going to do everything we can from a commerce perspective, an economic perspective, to make sure that we support employees, for example, unemployment compensation and otherwise,” Commissioner Chair Neil Makhija said. “So I look forward to hearing from the company. I haven’t heard anything yet myself, but I want to make sure that we touch base with the employees and ensure that they have everything they need.”
Commissioner Tom DiBello expressed support for SPS to rebuild in Abington.
“We have to do everything we can moving forward to, once this scene’s completely taken care of, to help SPS rebuild, and obviously love for them to stay in Abington,” he said. “There’s hundreds of people that are employed by the community there … It would be a loss for not only Abington, for Montgomery County to see SPS Technologies pull out.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer published an article yesterday which notes that SPS’ closure “would leave a hole in U.S. design and production of the specialized nuts and bolts, rivets, and other fasteners that pilots and passengers rely on to hold airliners, planes, helicopters, and other vehicles together, and make them repairable.”
The company, which is owned by the Precision Castparts unit of multibillionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Corp., is one of a few Department of Defense-certified suppliers for some of the basic parts used in the Chinook helicopters, the giant Boeing Stratolifter cargo plane, Tomahawk missiles, Apache Longbow and Black Hawk attack helicopters, F-15 fighter jets, and others.
The article goes on to list the fasteners for which SPS is the only or one of a few approved federal suppliers, and notes that SPS workers have resisted repeated unionization efforts. The plant’s workforce has been reduced by more than half, to 574, since 2003. The fate of those jobs is uncertain at this time.
Yesterday, SPS Technologies issued an initial statement about the incident and established a community hotline for questions or concerns.
Planned Partial Demolition
Officials said this afternoon that they are working to extinguish hotspots and begin their investigation. To do so, they will have to demolish part of the building, 6ABC reported.
Officials are also telling residents to call 911 immediately if they find any debris near their homes. If debris is found on a car or blocking an entryway, gloves may be used cautiously, though it is recommended to wait for crews to arrive.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said it’s testing the air for six chemicals: Particulate matter (PM 10, 4, 2.5) Hydrogen Cyanide, Chlorine, Volatile Organic Compounds, Hydrogen Sulfide and Sulfuric Acid.
Jenkintown Police Chief Tom Scott said environmental contractors are installing monitors across parts of Abington, Cheltenham and Jenkintown. The Jenkintown Fire Department is working with a third-party environmental contractor to inspect homes in the borough.
“They’ve been provided with a list of the preliminary list of homes that have been impacted directly inside the borough,” Chief Scott said. “We are continuing to add to that list of homes, as well as critical infrastructure that’s inside. We will be making sure that those homes are inspected to make sure that they’re safe, but also mitigate any issues with regards to debris or any other exposure from the fire.”
“This monitoring will not stop in any shape or form at least weeks or months in Cheltenham Township,” Chief Scott said.
The Jenkintown School District, which plans to reopen tomorrow, has installed “air scrubbers,” devices primarily used in industrial settings to remove contaminants, pollutants and air particles.
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Photo: Matt Rourke | AP, Oreland Fire Company