Demolition and debris cleanup begins after Pennsylvania industrial fire

Crews are responding to a massive fire that broke out on Feb. 19 at aerospace fastener and precision component manufacturer SPS Technologies in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. As reported by 6 ABC, the fire department was still on the scene on Feb. 21 to put out hotspots. 

SPS Technologies says it has hired an outside firm to help with cleanup. They will be starting remediation work at the area schools before moving on to homes.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says, so far, it has not detected harmful levels of contaminants in the air or the water.

“Any fire you're going to have some contaminants. But to see the levels of decrease in contaminants of what is acceptable in the eyes of the EPA and the DEP, we were well beneath those levels,” Jenkintown Police Chief Tom Scott tells 6 ABC. 

Police in Jenkintown will also canvas neighborhoods to identify any debris that may have fallen onto people's property.

“I know there [were] concerns about asbestos. I was told by SPS officials today that they had done a remediation of the majority of their asbestos back in the 1990s,” Scott says.