Flea-market blaze was 1 of 4 set, fire marshal says

Associated Press

STRASBURG, Ohio

Ohio’s fire marshal says a fire that gutted a large, historic retail building was one of four fires set intentionally within an eight-mile area.

The fire at the Garver Flea Market in Strasburg was first reported around 11 p.m. Wednesday and drew scores of firefighters from throughout Northeast Ohio.

In a statement, fire marshal’s spokesman Shane Cartmill says other fires overnight hit two businesses in nearby Brewster and a church in Beach City. No injuries were reported in any of the fires.

The flea market is in an 1866 building once operated as the “World’s Largest Country Store” by a family named Garver.

The Repository of Canton reports the fire at First Lutheran Church was set at a rear entrance and did not burn the church down.