After Fire, Murphys Thank The Community For Outpouring Of Support

To the Editor,

On Thursday, January 19 our home had a fire within it due to a package that was placed too close to our propane-fired stove. The person delivering thought the stove was programmed to stay off while we were away, but unfortunately, it was controlled by a thermostat so that when the temperatures dropped, the heater turned on. No one was home at the time and thankfully, there was no loss of life or injuries.

We are incredibly grateful to our amazing neighbors who smelled and saw smoke and called 911. We live in a wonderful neighborhood full of wonderful people who look out for each other. We can’t thank our friends and neighbors enough for their quick response which surely prevented this from being even more disastrous.

We also want to extend heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the members of the Nantucket Fire Department for their swift response, excellent communication with us, and the care and concern shown by every member of the team we’ve encountered.

Our phones and emails were immediately flooded with outreach and concern from a beautiful cross-section of family, friends, and neighbors around the island with generous and sincere offers to help us in any way possible. For that care and concern, we are also eternally grateful.

A handful of island businesses have also responded immediately, helping us secure our home, offering support, and extending us generous donations and discounts on all the things we need to replace. We are so grateful to them for their generosity and support.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, neighbors, NFD, and our community for taking such good care of us in our time of need. Nantucket is, indeed, a very special community and we are so grateful to be a part of it.

Devon & Melissa Murphy