Edgartown Fire Dept. snuffs guesthouse fire

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Edgartown firefighters knocked down a fire in an unoccupied guest house on Sunday. —Courtesy Robert Gatchell

The Edgartown Fire Department knocked down an unoccupied guesthouse fire Sunday evening at 82 Schoolhouse Rd. A “smoke and flames” call came in from neighbors at 5:19 pm. Edgartown firefighters arrived to find “the south side of the house involved in flames” and the electric service “actively arcing,” Edgartown Fire Chief Alex Schaeffer told The Times. Firefighters swept the house for occupants and found none, Chief Schaeffer said. Eversource cut power to the house, and with the help of Oak Bluffs fire crews, Edgartown firefighters extinguished the fire, he said. “It was a quick knockdown,” Chief Schaeffer said.

The cause of the fire is not yet determined. Edgartown responded with all its engine companies. Oak Bluffs assisted with one engine company and a ladder company, because Edgartown’s ladder truck was being serviced, Chief Schaeffer said. West Tisbury covered the Edgartown Fire Station during the incident.

Last Wednesday, Edgartown firefighters responded to an automatic fire alarm on Bay Road and discovered a home filled with smoke. The source of the smoke was a smoldering chair, Chief Schaeffer said. Firefighters removed the chair from the home and then used ventilation fans to clear smoke from the house, he said. Chief Schaeffer said the fire department is investigating what caused the chair to smolder.