It was an ordinary day. Just grabbed my newspaper from my front porch and sat on my lounge chair to begin reading it. Then it hit me. There on the front page of the paper was a photograph of what at one time was Martin's Country Market at 1717 W. Main Street in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. Wait a minute!!! I grabbed my phone and called my brother immediately...for you see...my brother, Steve, worked there in the frozen food section of the market. Not only that...he lives about 100 yards from the rear of the store along Hoover Drive. You can sit on his rear deck and see the entire rear of the store from his deck. That is...used to be able to see the rear of the store. It was this past Thursday that the grocery story burned pretty much to the ground. Called my brother and he said he was able to watch the fire from his rear window. Luckily, the wind was blowing in the opposite direction from his house or he probably would have had to evacuate his home along with all the other residents of his neighborhood. More than 200 firefighters fought the blaze that was discovered before dawn when a worker at the market came to work. A neighbor who lives across the street from the market was just leaving her house around 5:40 a.m. Shen she saw the flames drawing along the roofline of the store across the street from her home. Thick black smoke was just beginning to clog the air in the neighborhood. By that time, it was said that the fire must have been burning for more than two hours. More than 200 firefighters from Ephrata and surrounding counties fought the blaze for several hours. A state police marshal is investigating the blaze, which caused millions of dollars in damage and closed down the market indefinitely. The grocery store, where my brother worked, will need to be totally rebuilt! It is extremely devastating for not only those who worked at the store, but for all who counted on the store for their groceries. After seeing the fire on my television, I quickly called my brother. He was upset, since he had only been working at the place for a little over a year, after retiring from another job. He enjoyed the management as well as all the other workers at the grocery store. He had several positions during the last year and was recently put in charge of the frozen food section of the store. Steve is a hard worker and made sure that everything is done. correctly and in time. Any employer would love to have Steve working for them. At first it was a part-time position, but more hours were added as Steve found he loved working at the store with the Martin family and their crew of workers. The entire building will need to be demolished and a new one will have to be built. I'm sure the Martin family is already making plans for a new store. The store will be missed...until they are able to reopen once again. Everyone was very lucky that the fire didn't cause any deaths! I've talked with Steve a few times since the fire and he is trying to figure out what to do with his free time now. For years he had a stand at the nearby Green Dragon Country Market which is open one day a week. Steve is the type of guy who can't sit still and do nothing. He has to be on the move and have something to do at all times. It's in our blood line!! I'm sure he will find something until the market is rebuilt and he can be back at work one more time at the grocery store. It was another extraordinary day in the life of ordinary guy.
PS - the following is from a news source that I found on my computer. You may want to read what they have to say about the destruction that took place at the fire site.
The fire broke out just before 4 a.m. at the popular market located at 1717 West Main Street in Ephrata Township, according to Lancaster County Wide Communications. The fire shuttered Route 322 in both directions between Wood Corner and Robert roads, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation explained. It has since reopened but Hackman road remains closed as of 1:30 p.m. Salt trucks were also called to the scene to help prevent the water the firefighters were using from freezing into ice on the roadways. As the hydrant system was overwhelmed additional tanks were called. Over 200 firefighters from 45 companies from Lancaster, Lebanon, and Chester counties were called to the scene. Around 9 a.m. fire officials said the fire was a "multi-million dollar loss." This comes after a wall between the market and an adjoining appliance store fell around 7 a.m.; leading crews to evacuate as they feared a possible building collapse. The appliance store suffered water and smoke damage but the fire never entered that part of the building, Lincoln Fire Company Public Information Officer Randy Gockley said. One firefighter was injured, Gockley explained. The firefighter fell and broke or fractured his ankle/leg, Gockley details to the best of his knowledge of the man's injury. The cause of the fire is unknown, although Gockley noted an employee was in the building when a fire was spotted in a small back room. The community is already feeling the loss of this major business, sharing on social media.The fire was knocked down around 10:30 a.m., but fire officials believe it could take an additional 11 to 15 hours to knock out hotspots. Gockley estimated clearing the scene around 7 p.m.
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