Foster's Flea Market
Foster's Flea Market in Ranger
For those of you who have traveled to Murphy and taken the Blairsville Highway to drop by and see us, you drove past Foster's Flea Market on your right and Decker's on your left. I don't know the history of how this flea market came about, but I'm curious so will talk to the locals. During our tourist season from spring to fall, this flea market attracts thousands of people on the weekends. Cliff and I have only been once because we don't need anymore "stuff." We have enuff stuff! Down-sizing is cleansing. But we still get a kick out of the number of people who flock to this flea market every weekend. You can get a "Big Breakfast" for $3.99, fresh cantaloupe, corn in season and made on the premises "mountain furniture." This place is quite a draw.
Cliff's report:
This was a very large, dangerous fire. When I arrived the structures were heavily involved with fire. Our problem here in rural firefighting is water supply. There was a hydrant that would supply only one master stream on Murphy's ladder truck. All the rest of the water supply was done by tanking water from a hydrant at the Georgia border and drafting out of a river. The water was then tanked to drop tanks to supply the numerous pumpers that we had. Fire apparatus from all west side Cherokee County, NC and Union and Fannin Counties in Georgia we used. I personally had several jobs as the fire unfolded. I manned a 2 1/2 inch hose line and was directed to keep 2 large propane tanks from getting too warm and exploding. We were successful. I helped with water shuttle and several other tasks as directed by my chief. Fortunately we did save structures on the north, west and south sides of the main fire. The flea market was very old and the amount of material that could burn inside was huge. We had several explosions of smaller propane tanks inside the structure. I finally got back home at 9AM after getting our trucks back in service. I am a member of Station 17 and Station 25, so had to wear 2 hats depending on which chief I was reporting to. It worked fine. We had a wonderful combined effort even though so much was lost. A lot more could have been if we hadn't worked together. Great job by all.
For those of you who have traveled to Murphy and taken the Blairsville Highway to drop by and see us, you drove past Foster's Flea Market on your right and Decker's on your left. I don't know the history of how this flea market came about, but I'm curious so will talk to the locals. During our tourist season from spring to fall, this flea market attracts thousands of people on the weekends. Cliff and I have only been once because we don't need anymore "stuff." We have enuff stuff! Down-sizing is cleansing. But we still get a kick out of the number of people who flock to this flea market every weekend. You can get a "Big Breakfast" for $3.99, fresh cantaloupe, corn in season and made on the premises "mountain furniture." This place is quite a draw.
Cliff's report:
This was a very large, dangerous fire. When I arrived the structures were heavily involved with fire. Our problem here in rural firefighting is water supply. There was a hydrant that would supply only one master stream on Murphy's ladder truck. All the rest of the water supply was done by tanking water from a hydrant at the Georgia border and drafting out of a river. The water was then tanked to drop tanks to supply the numerous pumpers that we had. Fire apparatus from all west side Cherokee County, NC and Union and Fannin Counties in Georgia we used. I personally had several jobs as the fire unfolded. I manned a 2 1/2 inch hose line and was directed to keep 2 large propane tanks from getting too warm and exploding. We were successful. I helped with water shuttle and several other tasks as directed by my chief. Fortunately we did save structures on the north, west and south sides of the main fire. The flea market was very old and the amount of material that could burn inside was huge. We had several explosions of smaller propane tanks inside the structure. I finally got back home at 9AM after getting our trucks back in service. I am a member of Station 17 and Station 25, so had to wear 2 hats depending on which chief I was reporting to. It worked fine. We had a wonderful combined effort even though so much was lost. A lot more could have been if we hadn't worked together. Great job by all.
Beside this expansive flea market is a zoo that was saved from heat and flames.
Cliff was toned out around 2 PM. He'll add more to this later. These pieces of sheet metal were buildings.
Potted plants and burned flowers and shrubs are all that remains here. The building is gone.
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