Updated, Nov. 26
Fire officials are investigating after a structure fire left a Vineyard Haven home in ruins on Monday afternoon, displacing two Island families.
Tisbury firefighters responded to 168 Edgartown Road shortly after receiving a report of heavy flames and smoke pouring from the first-floor windows of the one-story home. Tisbury Fire Chief Patrick Rolston said the fire was first reported at 12:13 pm, and that first responders arrived within 20 seconds; the first fire truck arrived minutes later, dousing the blaze with water almost immediately.
Rolston said one resident who was inside the home at the time of the outbreak was able to safely exit. The individual, who is also the owner of the house, Michelle Gingras, was later transported to the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital for minor treatment.
“I’m still in shock,” said Gingras. “I’m just happy to be alive and that I got out and everybody got out safely.
“You see peoples houses burning down on the news all the time but you never imagine it would happen to me,” she added.
Gingras said she was taking a nap at the time the fires started, and luckily woke up to go to the bathroom.
“I got up and I opened my door and the heat and the flames was like, ‘oh my god,’” said Gingras. “I went into survival mode, got my phone and called 911.”
“By the time I did get outside the whole house was just smoke,” she added.
Rolston said the cause of the fire is still unclear, and due to the extent of the damage to the home, it will be difficult to determine. Rolston reported that the first floor of the home was “completely damaged,” the attic was damaged, and the basement was damaged by water.
Firefighters from Tisbury, with mutual aid from Edgartown and Oak Bluffs, remained on the scene for roughly 2½ hours on Monday, getting the fire under control. Roads were closed from Skiff Avenue to Winyah Lane during the response time.
“I would like to thank the Tisbury Police for their fast response time and help during the incident. I would like to thank the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office for support during this incident, and mutual aid towns Edgartown and Oak Bluffs, which are a critical resource that supports our community to help safely operate during a fire Incident,” said Rolston in a message to The Times.
The homeowners report that the house was built by their parents, Zoe and Jesse Steere, in 1983.
GoFundMe’s have been set up to support both families living in the house, available here for Michelle and here for Buchanan’s family.
“I am creating this GoFundMe on behalf of my family—my mother, stepfather, uncle, and my little brother—who tragically lost everything in a house fire on November 24, 2025, on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts,” said Diamond Buchanan on the GoFundMe page.
Michelle Gingras and her son are currently living in the Vineyard Harbor Motel and were able to get clothes from the Methodist Church and the Red House.
“I appreciate the outpouring of love and concern and we are just going to have to start over,” said Gingras. “God bless those people for doing that.”
On Tuesday morning, the house remained boarded up, and showed significant charring from top to bottom.
