MOIRA — An early morning fire at Martin’s Country Store & Farm on County Route 6 caused extensive damage Saturday, according to Moira’s fire chief, who said the fire resulted in a total loss of both businesses located on the property.
Moira Fire Chief Shawn Niles said the fire appears to have started in the pretzel bakery, located in a structure connected to the rear of the country store. The pretzel bakery was located in Jefferson County until about two years ago.
“I was on the first engine that arrived on scene and we could see heavy fire coming out of the door to the pretzel shop,” Niles said, adding flames quickly spread to the abutting structure, the country store.
According to Niles, no injuries were reported as a result of the fire, but a member of the Martin family was taken to the hospital to be evaluated as a precautionary measure.
An excavator helps to remove debris following a structure fire at Martin’s Country Store in Moira on Saturday. Moira Fire Chief Shawn Niles said the fire appears to have started in the pretzel bakery, behind the country store. Alexander Violo/Malone Telegram
Niles said Franklin County and state fire investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire, and fire crews are holding off on overhaul efforts to give them more time to look over the scene.
“A county excavator was here earlier, but we are in a holding pattern right now, giving them some time, and then we will bring another excavator in and finish up,” Niles said.
Niles said fire crews shut down County Route 6, while they worked to extinguish the fire, with the roadway closed to traffic from Route 95 to Mill Street.
A number of area fire departments assisted, according to Niles, who said crews from St. Lawrence County assisted Franklin County firefighters on scene.
Niles said as crews worked to extinguish the fire, water was drafted from Mill Street and area ladder trucks assisted with an aerial attack on the flames.
“At one point we had three aerials attacks going at once to help us put this fire out,” Niles said.
According to emergency dispatchers with Franklin County, the fire was first reported at about 6:45 a.m. Saturday.
Martin’s has multiple locations in the North Country, with stores in Bombay and Madrid, in addition to a location in Brushton, Martin’s on Main.
The family business changed hands from Lloyd and Ann Martin to their grandson Josiah Martin in April 2019.
Moira Fire Chief Shawn Niles said Franklin County and state fire investigators were working together to determine a cause of a fire that destroyed Martin’s Country Store in Moira on Saturday. Alexander Violo/Malone Telegram
Henry Martin, Lloyd’s uncle, first opened the business, a pretzel-making enterprise in the 1930s in Akron, Penn., and managed it for about 40 years until Lloyd Martin bought it in 1974. He ran the Pennsylvania bakery until 1984, when he sold it to his brother Clarence.
Lloyd Martin then moved to the North Country and opened a pretzel-making business in Theresa in 1991.
A 19-foot pretzel oven was brought to Moira from Theresa, Jefferson County, in August, shortly before the pretzel bakery opened at the location of the country store on County Route 6.
The pretzel shop opened in Moira in October.
Martin’s Pretzels garnered national acclaim through sales at New York City Greenmarkets, and coverage from The New York Times and Vogue, in addition to an appearance on the television show “Food Finds,” and in the movie “You’ve got Mail.”
