Fire Rips Through Green Dragon
By Alexander, Larry | |
Proquest LLC |
Staff Writer [email protected]
A devastating two-alarm fire ripped through the Green Dragon farm market complex in
The fire was reported at around
The market was open Friday, and the last people appeared to have left a few hours before the fire was spotted. No people or animals were hurt.
No cause has yet been determined, but the blaze is not considered suspicious at this point, officials said.
No damage estimate was available Saturday.
The fire was concentrated mainly in the central portion of the sprawling complex, around the concrete building that formerly housed the livestock auction.
The flames were fed by the numerous temporary wooden structures used by outdoor vendors at the popular flea market and lining the walkways.
The former livestock building was gutted, and several outlying structures were destroyed as well. Many others sustained heat damage,
The Green Dragon's office building, in close proximity to the blaze, had only minor damage.
He said passers-by who called in the fire reported flames through the roof of the former auction house.
All businesses inside it were destroyed, he said, including a furniture business, a small animal shop (no animals were inside) and a food stand.
Several outside shops, including a banana stand and a produce stand, were also destroyed, as were several small wooden shedlike shops.
The fire was declared under control around
The cause of the fire is undetermined, Pettyjohn said, and it could remain that way.
"The way it's burned up, we may never find a cause," he said. However, Pettyjohn added, it is "not suspicious" in nature.
As far as damages, "we're waiting for the insurance company," Redcay said. "They're putting an estimate together."
Vendors will have to be notified, Rohrbach said, because even those whose stands weren't touched by the fire might have lost perishables when power was cut to the site.
According to PPL's outage map, 106 customers in the area around the Green Dragon were without electrical power during the fire.
As the story broke, readers of LancasterOnline who frequent the Green Dragon posted notes of disbelief, concern for those affected, hope that the owners rebuild and offers of prayer.
"No! No no no no!!"
Apparatus from 19 different fire companies were called to the scene. Besides Ephrata Pioneer, companies assisting were
Upper Leacock, Bareville,
According to its history, the farm market occupies the site of a Prohibition-era speakeasy and dance hall originally known as Shreck's until the owner, visiting
Shut down by Prohibition agents in 1932, it was taken over by
Burkholder, a Mennonite, disapproved of the goings-on at the tavern and wanted to change the name, but Green Dragon stuck with the locals, and it remains that to this day.
The market expanded during the 1950s and now encompasses about 30 acres with hundreds of vendors, both inside the many buildings and outside.
The Green Dragon is only open on Fridays.
Caption: -Kirk Neidermyer Firefighters Battle A Two-Alarm Blaze At Ephrata's Green Dragon Farm Market Complex Early Saturday.; Kirk Neidermyer Firefighters Battle A Blaze That Heavily Damaged The Central Portion Of Ephrata's Green Dragon Market Early Saturday.
(Copyright 2014 Lancaster Newspapers. All rights reserved.)
Copyright: | (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |
Wordcount: | 932 |
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