Fire Department Responds To Fire On Vestal Street

Photography by David Creed

The Nantucket Fire Department responded to 32 Vestal Street for a reported structure fire this morning. The response included over a dozen NFD firefighters, Fire Chief Michael Cranson, Deputy Chief Sean Mitchell, the ladder truck and another engine, and two police cruisers. Cranson said there is an investigation ongoing as to how the fire began.

“Passerby called it in," Cranson said. "We showed up and there was heavy smoke condition coming out of the eaves of the house. They made entry, found the fire, and did a great job of knocking it down. Fortunately there were no injuries. No one was home."

National Grid arrived on scene quickly with two trucks to cut the power to the home. Cranson called the Hyannis Fire Department out of caution requesting assistance, and he said they sent eight firefighters down to their boat before Cranson made the determination later on that their assistance wouldn't be needed.

"I called the chief directly actually because he is a friend. I told them we were all set, but they were ready to help,” Cranson added. "Fortunately (the fire) was at the change of shift, so we are lucky enough to have (firefighters available) but then of course five minutes into the fire we had an ambulance call on the other side of the island, and then an alarm. That is just how it goes. We were fortunate in terms of time of day, weather conditions, that kind of stuff. It worked out and the guys did a great job. The cause is under investigation.”

From videos taken from the back of the property, there was significant water and smoke damage to the interior of the home, along with patches of roof gone and several windows damaged. In the video below, you can see shards of glass on the deck and water dripping from the roof of the home inside. There is also a hole in the first floor, as it appears the fire began in the crawl space of the home before rising up.