In 2000, Charles Lehigh's family published a collection of stories, poems and drawings entitled "Tales of the Pennsylvania Dutch." And Lehigh, now 87, decided to store some copies in an old freezer chest inside the barn at the Grandview Road plant farm where he lives. The decision spared perhaps 100 copies of the book when a fire ripped through the barn and an adjacent shed Monday afternoon.

But the books and a handful of personal documents that also were stored in the freezer were just about all that was salvageable following the blaze. Two small tractors sat next to the freezer chest, charred with their tires melted away and surrounded by mounds of sheet metal that had served as the barn's roof. Several pieces of farm equipment were lost in the blaze, said Sam Lehigh, who is Charles Lehigh's son and co-owner of the greenhouse business that operates at the 2392 Grandview Road site. And Sam Lehigh estimated the damage is at least $200,000, perhaps $500,000, and maybe more. "I'm glad scrap metal price is up," he said, trying to make light of the situation.

As of late Monday afternoon, fire officials still were working to identify what caused the fire. Penn Township Fire Chief Jan Cromer said a fire marshal likely would be at the site today [tla: June 2: ]to conduct an investigation. Aside from the equipment, Sam Lehigh said the buildings that burned contained packaging used by the business, Lehigh's Greenhouse. The pecks destroyed

While Sam Lehigh said he has a "little bit" of insurance that will help pay for the damage, "I'm sure it doesn't begin to cover what was here." Still he said he was thankful the fire wasn't worse, noting that he personally wants to thank the firefighters who helped put out the blaze.

"Thank the Lord nobody was (seriously) hurt," Sam Lehigh said. Cromer said two firefighters were taken from scene with minor injuries - heat exhaustion and a back strain - but said he expected they would be fine. Elizabeth Lehigh, who is Charles Lehigh's wife and Sam Lehigh's mother, said she was grateful the fire did not spread to the two homes near the barn - one of which is hers and the other of which is owned by her son Paul, who co-owns the plant farm and was gone when the fire broke out. "It could have taken the whole range practically," she said of the fire. The timing was also fortunate, the Lehighs said. "We're basically done for the season," said Sam Lehigh.

And Charles Lehigh noted said few if any plants were in the buildings that burned.

"If it had been two months earlier, if would have tied up the business," Charles Lehigh said. "In three months, we have a year of business." And at least a few pieces of equipment, including what Charles Lehigh called "the main tractor" were spared in the blaze. It was Elizabeth Lehigh who first discovered the fire. The greenhouse was open for business on Monday, and Elizabeth was helping a customer when she heard the plastic roof on the equipment shed crackling under the flames.

She said she looked to the barn, yelled "Fire" and reached for her cell phone. Before her call to 911 went through, another woman handed her owned phone to Elizabeth, and told her to give the address to the dispatcher. Firefighters from Penn Township were first at the scene, and were soon joined by companies from Hanover, Pleasant Hill, Jefferson, Lineboro and Southeastern Adams.

Water was pumped to the site from a hydrant along Pinewood Circle, the lines running up Grandview Road and down the long gravel driveway to the farm.