Mr. Speaker, last Friday night the sirens sounded as firefighters and other first responders raced to the iconic Grand Prairie farmers' market in the heart of our city. Thankfully the market was closed for the day and no one was injured, but the flames rendered the building unusable.
This tragedy has come at the worst possible time. In the lead-up to Christmas, locals depend on the market for baking, gifts and other holiday goodies, and the makers, bakers, growers and crafters who sell their products depend on the Christmas sales to carry them throughout the rest of the year.
Our community will come together, because that is what it does. I am sure that, in time, the building will be rebuilt, but in the meantime our community will travel a bit farther to Evergreen Park to support the vendors, who desperately need our support.
We thank the city and county firefighters, including members who were off duty, who raced to the scene of the fire to put out the flames. I thank the market staff and the vendors for their resilience. I thank our community who will step up and support our Grand Prairie farmers' market as it seeks to serve us as it always has.