SHAVERTOWN, Pa. — Flames broke out at a barn at The Lands at Hillside Farms in Luzerne County just before 5:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The owners say the fire started in the educational building, and no animals were affected.
The facility is an educational dairy farm near Shavertown.
A few hours earlier, a driver passing by the farm spotted flames.
Chet Mozloom, the executive director, was still asleep around 5:30 a.m. when he got the call.
"Police called, woke me up, and said we had a fire."
Mozloom says it could have been worse. Animals are sometimes inside the center, but only material things were lost.
"The memories of putting the building, like, the siding, we did all on our own. But they're only things, there was nothing alive, and that's really the biggest thing," Mozloom said. "This is nothing compared to a house fire where somebody's injured or killed."
Crews got the flames under control within about an hour
"These guys are amazing. They're all volunteers. They're all over the place."
The owners are already talking about rebuilding, hopefully, in time for the sold-out summer camp, which was housed in this building.
"It might be a tall order, but we'll set that goal," Mozloom said. "We have to do something. I'm like, 'Please, God, let the foundation be savable,' because then that would already be there, and we could go from there."
Mozloom says after two years of operating in a pandemic, this is just another obstacle to add to the list.
"I guess you almost get used to it to something bad happening and having to react to it, but this isn't the worst thing in the world. I mean, it's really unfortunate, but there are many, many things worse that could've happened."
The state police fire marshal is looking into what may have caused the fire.
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