BAINBRIGE – The much anticipated 2016 annual opening day for Frog Pond Farms located just south of Bainbridge last Friday was marred by a disaster that left one man hospitalized and a highly prized food attraction destroyed.

Fire crews from Afton, Bainbridge, Masonville and Sidney responded to a reported shed fire at 2001 State Highway 7, approximately one mile south of the Bainbridge Village line, at 11:14 a.m.

While Bainbridge Fire Chief Fred Bell was reluctant to release information on the cause of the fire or who the owner was, a source close to the Cherry family said that a malfunctioning propane heater that had exploded while in operation was to blame.

Those on scene indicated that the shack and its contents were quickly engulfed with thick smoke and flames, and that Eric Cherry was alone in the building at the time of the explosion. Facebook updates to The Donut Shack's account mirror the information obtained from sources.

Chenango County dispatch records indicate that a male subject was transported by Cooperstown Medical Transport from the scene to Wilson Memorial Hospital in Johnson City.