Fire Rips Through Green Dragon

Staff Writer [email protected]

A devastating two-alarm fire ripped through the Green Dragon farm market complex in Ephrata Township early Saturday, gutting some buildings and damaging others.

The fire was reported at around 4:35 a.m. One building and several smaller structures were said to have been fully involved by the time fire crews arrived. Pillars of dense smoke billowed into the pre-dawn sky, carrying embers that drifted down in surrounding residential neighborhoods.

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, Ephrata Fire Company Capt. Troy Redcay said.

The Green Dragon's office building, in close proximity to the blaze, had only minor damage.

Ephrata Fire Chief Allen Pettyjohn said the fire was so advanced when crews arrived that the first order of business was to protect the surrounding structures. As more equipment arrived, attention was turned to the main fire.

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 6:45 a.m.

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."

North State Street was closed between Mohler Church and Garden Spot roads for several hours.

Rob Rohrbach, the market's owner and manager, told the Reading Eagle on Saturday he wasn't sure then whether the market would need to be closed or for how long.

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!!" Audrey Singer moaned, while Cathy Giunta Hoscheid posted, "Such a shame, so (many) people have lost so much in these buildings."

Krista Ulbrich Rickards, who posted that she and her family visit from Cape May four to five times a year, said, "Prayers go out to all who lost their shops. I am hoping they rebuild and reopen better than before. I will continue to follow their progress and hope that those who were not involved continue to open."

Theresa Burkhardt and Thomas Brown both commented on losing a "piece of history."

Denise Radovich-Peden, who posted that she visits with her sisters about four times a year, said, "Our next trip was scheduled for Oct. 10th. I am so bummed reading this. Love this place and hope they rebuild."

Fred Schillfarth, from Baltimore, posted, "I take off on Friday a couple times a year so my wife and I can make a trip up there."

Timothy Peck felt for the vendors who lost everything to the flames: "I'm a flea marketer myself at Zern's Farmers Market. It is sad to see this happen - some people live off flea market scene. Here's hoping for a quick rebuild."

Apparatus from 19 different fire companies were called to the scene. Besides Ephrata Pioneer, companies assisting were Lincoln, East Cocalico, Akron, Martindale, Denver, Durlach/Mount Airy, Reamstown, Reinholds, Rothsville, Weaverland Valley, Witmer, Neffsville, Brunnerville, West Earl, Fivepointville, Farmersville, Garden Spot Fire & Rescue, Lititz, as well as medical units from Ephrata and Reamstown.

Upper Leacock, Bareville, Intercourse and Brecknock (Berks County) were among the units standing by.

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 Atlantic City, spotted a restaurant named The Green Dragon and renamed his tavern.

Shut down by Prohibition agents in 1932, it was taken over by Noah N. Burkholder who, on March 11, 1932, opened it as a livestock auction house.

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.

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