Sean Simmers, Janet Pickel
pennlive.com
(TNS)
A building at Harrisburg’s historic Broad Street Market burned early Monday morning.
The fire call came in at 1 a.m., the city’s Bureau of Fire posted on Facebook.
Smoke from the blaze could be seen outside the city.
The market at Third and Verbeke streets is made up of two buildings, a stone one that faces Third Street, and a brick building to the rear. It was the brick building that burned. The building has stood for 145 years.
Harrisburg Fire Chief Brian Enterline said approximately half the building was destroyed; the other half sustained significant damage. On the half of the building that was destroyed, the roof was gone and only the walls remained standing.
“It is devastating,” Enterline said. “This is a building that has served the community for a long time.”
He credited dispatchers with quickly assessing the situation and immediately issuing a first alarm, speeding the response of fire crews from in and outside Harrisburg. When the first units reached the scene, a second alarm was issued.
Enterline said the danger of collapse prevented firefighters from fighting the blaze inside the building, but he said they were able to quickly lay large lines which helped prevent the fire from spreading further.
No one was injured in the blaze. There was no information on how or where the fire started.
When the fire was under control, a drone was used to locate hot spots and direct firefighting efforts to those locations.
The market is open only Thursdays to Saturdays. According to its website, it was founded in 1860. The stone building was completed in 1863 and the brick was built between 1874 and 1878. It claims to be the oldest continuously operated market house in the U.S.
The market in Harrisburg’s midtown neighborhood has about 40 vendors between the two buildings, mostly selling food. The courtyard in between serves as a spot for music, community events and additional vendors.
PennLive’s Teresa Bonner contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with details about the fire and the market.
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