Abington, Cheltenham, and Jenkintown school districts expect to reopen on Thursday, February 20 following the lifting of shelter-in-place and voluntary evacuations this morning.
From Abington School District superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Fecher’s announcement:
A press conference this morning announced that no hazards have been detected in the area surrounding the fire and the area has been deemed safe. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will continue to monitor air and water conditions to ensure public safety. You can also visit the Abington Township website for additional resources, which will be updated with more information throughout the day.
I know many of our families who evacuated their homes may continue to feel the effects of displacement, and/or there may be families who continue to have concerns. Please reach out to a school counselor or a member of our Student Services staff if you need support or resources.
Our thoughts continue to be with our students and staff who have been impacted by the fire, as well as with the emergency responders.
Arcadia University in Wyncote held a virtual learning day today and expects to reopen tomorrow. Businesses in the area are gradually reopening as well.
Trash and recycling collection will resume in the area, township officials said.
The state Department of Environmental Protection has conducted samplings of the Tookany Creek which runs through Abington, Jenkintown, Cheltenham, and Glenside. They said there are low levels of chemicals in the water but that there are no drinking water intakes in that creek.
There are no chemicals in the Delaware River, and officials say drinking water is safe. Officials also said the air quality tests have not detected any chemicals in the air.
Doylestown and Warminster trains are running but will skip Noble, Jenkintown-Wyncote and Glenside stations until further notice.
Numerous local residents, including Charles Brown of Jenkintown, have been interviewed by major media outlets regarding the fire.
“It was ridiculous, it shook the house so bad,” Brown told CBS News. “I looked at the roof line of SPS and it was blazing. Montgomery County has an emergency alert system and it actually called my wife’s phone and the house and told us we have an hour to leave.”
Jeanne Schmolze of Abington was interviewed by CBS News as well.
“I was watching TV and all of a sudden I heard this boom and my whole building shook,” she said.
“It’s just so surreal,” Dan Katz, owner of The Highland Restaurant, told 6ABC. “I’m happy they are able to be here in warmth, use bathrooms. We’ve been feeding them and we’re just so thankful for all the first responder volunteers helping our community.”
More residents were featured in 6ABC’s coverage from today:
On Tuesday, Abington Township declared a Disaster Emergency due to the magnitude of the incident. Abington Township’s website is serving as the official source of public information.
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Screengrab: CBS