Massive Fire Destroys Home Under Construction Near Dionis Beach

A massive fire consumed an 8,000 square-foot home under construction near Dionis Beach along Nantucket’s north shore early Saturday morning. There were no injuries reported, but the structure was completely destroyed. The cause remains under investigation, and is not yet known at this time.
The blaze started around 3:30 a.m. at the property at 19 East Tristram Avenue, off Eel Point Road. The Nantucket Fire Department called all available personnel to respond to fight the fire and prevent it from spreading to neighboring homes. With the nearest fire hydrant nearly a mile away, the fire department had to shuttle water to the site after quickly running through what was available in its tankers.
The Nantucket Fire Department was assisted by the Nantucket Police Department, the Coast Guard, Nantucket Memorial Airport, the Sewer Department, the Land Bank, Toscana Corp., and mutual aid was called in from the Hyannis Fire Department, which arrived Saturday morning to Nantucket Harbor on its fire boat.
The house was just two weeks away from being completed, builder Patrick Levesque told the Current, and had been under construction for close to two years.

According to Nantucket property records, it appears the property is owned by Richard G. Phillips Jr., the former CEO of Pilot prior to its sale to a private equity firm in 2016. He bought the property is 2016 for $12.5 million.

Deputy Fire Chief Sean Mitchell had command of the scene once again, as the town’s interim chief had completed his term and left on the boat yesterday, and new fire chief Michael Cranson doesn’t arrive on-island until tomorrow. There were embers flying inland landing on the street, as well as the rooftops of neighboring homes and yards. Mitchell said once firefighters saw a small fire emerge on a second home, he called for all mutual aid available.

The Red Cross also responded to help feed the firefighters after hours of work. The home builder Pat Levesque was at the scene and told the Current he had been working on the 8,000 square foot home for nearly two years. The owner lived at an adjacent property and first reported the fire.

This story will be updated.