Aerospace components conglomerate Precision Castparts' STS-Jenkintown facility in Pennsylvania "will be offline for the foreseeable future" after a four-alarm fire caused multiple explosions and "significantly damaged" the structure where the company produces fasteners.
The fire, which began Monday night, had been contained but was still active as of Tuesday afternoon, local officials said. No official cause had been reported, with authorities saying earlier today that an investigation had yet to begin. But the company believes the fire originated from an electrical transformer.
Precision Castparts said the fire impacted both its manufacturing operation and warehouse.
Emergency services have asked residents within a 1-mile radius of the 560,000ft2 facility to voluntarily evacuate because of air quality concerns. None of the 60 workers present were injured.
Precision Castparts, which operates the plant through its fasteners division, produces the components from titanium — among other high-temp metals — for use in aerospace applications that include aircraft structures and engines. The company's fasteners also are manufactured for other end markets, such as medical and power generation.
The fire likely will further strain supply of 6-4 aerospace-grade turnings, for which fasteners manufacturing is a leading source of generation. Scrap buyers recently have described challenges maintaining inflows, citing reduced availability that has prompted prices to rise to $2.85-3.15/lb — nearly a five-month high — based on the latest Argus data.
