The SPS Technologies fire had no impact on drinking water or air quality, the DEP says

The four-alarm fire that burned for five straight days in February at the SPS Technologies factory in Abington had no impact on drinking water or air quality, officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection confirmed at a virtual community meeting Tuesday.

The meeting took place three months after the fire ravaged the facility that stood for 105 years on Highland Avenue, where proud factory workers produced specialized metal bolts and fasteners for clients like Boeing and NASA. The fire prompted short-lived evacuation and shelter-in-place orders, which led to concerns about the harsh chemicals the factory was known to use as fiery tar and charred black debris rained down on nearby lawns.

Luckily, the tanks storing those chemicals were spared during the fire, said Patrick Patterson, the department’s southeastern regional director, to 43 attendees at Tuesday’s virtual meeting. That stroke of good fortune, Patterson emphasized, is what prevented the fire from going from bad to worse.

» READ MORE: From Feb. 2025: No contaminants found in the air or water supply as SPS Technologies fire burns for fourth straight day, officials say

“It was an incident that could’ve been so much worse than it turned out being,” Patterson said. “This had the potential to be a serious chemical fire and turned out to only be a building fire because of the way the chemicals were segregated.”

Now, Department of Environmental Protection and SPS will continue to monitor air quality, soil, and drinking water as the site undergoes further demolition, which Patterson said started Monday and should wrap up by Sept. 15.

Still have concerns about how the fire has impacted the environment? Here are four takeaways from the community briefing.

SPS Technologies had 11 industrial-sized tanks of petroleum products and hazardous chemicals on its campus at the time of the fire, Patterson said.

Those stores included six 2,000-gallon to 10,000-gallon tanks of petroleum products and five 1,600-gallon to 4,500-gallon tanks of chemicals such as hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, and sodium hydroxide, which can cause chemical burns and damage to the respiratory system.

» READ MORE: From Feb. 2025: SPS Technologies had toxic ‘ignitable waste’ on site, past EPA violations

“The integrity of the tanks did not appear to have been affected by the fire,” Patterson said, referencing observations from a Feb. 28 visit to the site.

Had those tanks been engulfed by the flames, Patterson said, “hazardous chemical vapors” could’ve wafted into the surrounding neighborhoods.

SPS is permitted to handle several carcinogens linked to increased risks for liver, lung, and brain cancer. The facility had disposed of 177 tons of chemicals in 2023, according to the most recent results from the Environmental Protection Agency‘s Toxic Inventory Report.

» READ MORE: SPS Technologies was once an anchor in Abington, but the massive fire has prompted questions about its future

Patterson said that the SPS Technologies fire “never” posed a threat to anyone‘s drinking water.

The factory used to sit along Tookany Creek, which is a source of drinking water for the City of Philadelphia.

In the days immediately following the fire, low levels of cyanide were found in surface water samples drawn from parts of the creek closest to SPS, said Thomas Magge, who manages the southeastern region’s clean water program for the Department of Environmental Protection. Repeat testing done in March, however, found no cyanide.

SPS pumped water used to extinguish the fire into holding tanks to prevent it from running into Tookany Creek, said Patterson. That water was then treated in an SPS-owned wastewater management facility before being released.

“Another stroke of good luck,” Patterson said.

» READ MORE: DEP tested air for six chemical compounds near SPS Technologies, and Philly tested for two dozen

Air quality monitors have also not detected any chemicals of concern, said Patterson.

SPS has been using a third party vendor under the department’s supervision to monitor the air for asbestos, carbon monoxide, sulfuric acid, and other hazardous compounds alongside large particulate matter. Patterson said the department has had “no major concerns,” with SPS’ testing and would keep monitoring results as demolition ramps up.

SPS Technologies had a “satisfactory compliance record” with the Department of Environmental Protection prior to the fire, Shawn Mountain — an environmental program manager with the agency — told attendees Tuesday.

This contradicts, in part, the EPA’s history with the aerospace manufacturer. In 2023, the agency fined SPS $109,000 for storing chemicals without a permit, failing to store hazardous waste correctly, and for not having a proper evacuation plan.

A class-action lawsuit stemming from the fire also alleges that SPS failed to maintain its 600,000-square-foot facility to industry standards. The suit, filed in February, notes that SPS did not have a working sprinkler system at the time of the fire and had a long history of smaller fires.

» READ MORE: SPS Technologies fire in Abington is extinguished. Now, a class-action lawsuit seeks answers

Mountain said that the department had conducted regular inspections of the SPS facility and that any issues “were all corrected in a timely fashion.” Since the fire, said Mountain, SPS has been properly disposing of any remaining hazardous materials.

The department has tested 61 soil samples from close to two dozen properties, including the campuses of Jenkintown public schools, the Abington Friends School, and public parks.

Those tests found elevated levels of arsenic — a carcinogen — and lead at several locations.

Arsenic was detected at Cedar Street Moretti Park and Jenkintown Square, as well as Cheese Park in Glenside. At those locations, arsenic levels were more than double the acceptable standard.

Lead levels were also elevated in those parks, nearly five times the acceptable standard.

After extensive research, the agency determined that the lead and arsenic concentrations were not linked to the fire, according to Colin Wade, an environmental specialist with the department.

“We believe that the concentrations of arsenic and lead are representative of naturally occurring conditions or conditions that are commonly found in urban environments,” Wade said, “and thus unrelated to the fire.”