Neighbor, vendors could only watch blaze

Sarah Campbell / Salisbury Post

Some of the rubble left after the fire at Webb Road Flea Market. Sarah Campbell, Salisbury Post

Webb Road Flea Market fire. Photo by Hugh Fisher.

Brother and sister Ted Haas and Sharon Osborne both have sons who fought the Webb Road Flea Market fire Friday morning. They try to attend most large fires to support their sons, especially after the fatal Salisbury Millwork fire in 2008. No one was injured in the flea market blaze. Photo by Emily Ford

Jeff Overcash worried the Webb Road Flea Market fire might consume his nearby home, which burned to the ground six years ago. Photo by Emily Ford

By Emily Ford

eford@salisburypost.com

Jeff Overcash thought Hurricane Earl had arrived when he looked out his window Friday morning and saw thick, black clouds filling the sky.

He quickly realized the clouds were actually huge plumes of smoke coming from the Webb Road Flea Market, located about two blocks from his house.

The sprawling collection of booths and buildings off Interstate 85 burned to the ground in a three-alarm blaze that started around 7:30 a.m. and burned for most of the day.

Six years ago, Overcash watched his own house on Webb Road burn to the ground. He rebuilt the white, two-story home, but watching flames consume the flea market took Overcash back.

“Seeing everything and smelling the smoke brought back bad memories,” he said.

As he stood on his diving board at 7:45 a.m. to get a better look, he said he heard several explosions. He suspects they came from propane tanks that vendors used to heat their booths.

Overcash became concerned at one point that his house might be in danger from the fire.

“You never know what it’s going to do, because at one point the wind changed,” he said.

His home was safe.

Overcash’s father-in-law has a relative who owned a business at the flea market. Like so many people Friday, he lost all his inventory and the way he made his living.

“This was people’s livelihood,” Overcash said.

As word spread Friday morning, vendors arrived to watch helplessly as their inventory went up in flames. Most kept their wares at the flea market during the week and were well-stocked Friday in anticipation of the holiday weekend.

Some looked on in horror and tears while others simply shrugged.

“It’s just one of those things,” Paul Swaim said as he watched the fire from his car, pulled off I-85 at exit 70.

Swaim, of Denton, lost his general merchandise booth and about $15,000 worth of inventory. Like most vendors, he had no insurance.

Swaim lost another business when the U.S. Flea Market at I-85 exit 85 burned several years ago.

Others took the news harder.

“I can’t find the words,” said a man who calls himself Jahlove.

He owned Culture Image, a reggae store, and heard from a friend in New York that the flea market was on fire. He rushed to the scene but realized there was nothing he could do.

“Everything is gone, everything is gone,” he said during a cell phone call.

The vendor community devoted time and effort to making the flea market great, he said.

“The economy is so messed up, but everybody was trying to hold on,” he said.

While Jahlove opened his booth a year ago, “some people were here for 20 years,” he said. “They made their business here, and they come to see this. They’ve lost everything.”

Salvador Arevalo arrived from Midland to witness the fire. He estimated that he lost between $10,000 and $15,000 in Asian-themed inventory, including water fountains and bamboo.

He left his job as a bricklayer to see the blaze.

“I need to go look at it,” he said in broken English. “This is part of my life.”

Siblings Sharon Osborne and Ted Haas didn’t own businesses in the 25-year-old flea market but watched the fire as intently as any vendor.

They each had a son fighting the blaze, both members of the Bostian Heights Fire Department.

“We are proud of what they do, but at times we become very concerned and whenever possible, we try to assist them,” said Haas, whose son is Chuck Haas.

Osborne lives a mile from the flea market and arrived shortly after the fire was reported. Her son, Steve Osborne, serves as assistant fire chief.

Osborne and Haas often attend large fires to watch their sons in action. Both sons fought the fatal blaze at Salisbury Millwork in 2008 that took the lives of two firefighters, Victor Isler and Justin Monroe.

Especially since then, Haas and Osborne said, they just like to be nearby.

Contact Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.