Chilmark House Fire
9/13/18
Fire heavily damaged a home under construction on Middle Road in Chilmark early Wednesday morning.
The Vineyard Gazette reports the call reporting the fire came in around 3:45 A.M. and by 4 o’clock the flames had reached upwards of 30 feet in the air.
Firefighters from every Martha’s Vineyard town responded to the fire with seven trucks and nearly 30 firemen who shuttled water from a pond adjacent to Chilmark Chocolates in an attempt to douse the blaze.
The Gazette says the fire had died down by 4:30 A.M. and fire crews continued to fight stubborn pockets of flames until after dawn.
Fire officials said the high humidity, misty precipitation and the lack of wind prevented the fire from spreading to other properties.
The cause of the fire is listed as spontaneous combustion from sawdust and oil-soaked rags left on the back deck of the home by sub-contractors.
There were no injuries reported.