Victims of a house fire in Edgartown that claimed the life of 32-year-old David Cleary last week have received an outpouring of support from the community, including an online fundraising campaign that has raised thousands of dollars.

Less than a week after the fire, a campaign on the website GoFundMe.com for Danielle Doherty, a former partner of Mr. Cleary, had far surpassed its goal of $5,000. And nearly $4,000 had been raised through the website YouCare.com in support of Joshua Crossland, a tenant who suffered burns on his hands and face while attempting to rescue Mr. Cleary.

Mr. Crossland was flown by helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on the night of the fire and received treatment for the burns, which were described as serious but not life-threatening. On Tuesday this week, the hospital reported Mr. Crossland was no longer listed in the directory.

Fire fatalities are unusual on the Vineyard, said Edgartown fire chief Peter Shemeth, who spoke to the Gazette this week and stressed the importance of fire prevention. Since the 1970s, he said, there had been few fatalities in Edgartown.

“This would make four,” he said. “It’s been years since we’ve had a fatality.”

The last two fire-related deaths in Dukes County were both in the winter of 2010, according to the state department of fire services. One was a house fire in West Tisbury and the other was a car fire in Oak Bluffs.

By the time firefighters and other emergency responders arrived at 25 Boylston street on the night of March 18 at around 9 p.m., the house was fully engulfed in flames. Firefighters from Edgartown and Oak Bluffs extinguished the fire in less than an hour, but kept watch through the night.

An investigation by the Edgartown police and fire departments, along with state police and the state fire marshal’s office the next day concluded that the fire had started on a screened-in porch and was caused by the improper disposal of smoking materials.

Three occupants on the first floor discovered the fire and called up to Mr. Cleary on the second floor, according to a statement released by Edgartown police. They saw Mr. Cleary, wrapped in a towel, begin to evacuate, but then turn back. When the occupants realized Mr. Cleary was still in the building, they tried to get back in, “but were turned back by the flames,” according to the statement.

Mr. Cleary’s body was later found fully clothed on the first floor. Two occupants, including Mr. Crossland, were treated for injuries. Another escaped unharmed.

Because the fire started on the exterior of the house, the occupants were unaware of it until it was already advanced, Mr. Shemeth said. “Then that night it was extremely windy so the wind fed the oxygen to the flames themselves,” he said.

Jennifer Mieth, a spokesman for the department of fire services, said by telephone Tuesday that the fatality and injuries could have been prevented by smoke alarms and the proper disposal of smoking materials.

“There was no evidence of working smoke alarms at all,” she told the Gazette. “People don’t remember them being there, the firefighters arriving did not hear them, and we did not find any evidence in the debris, either.”

Statewide, there have been 16 fire deaths since January, slightly up from the five-year average for this time of year, according to the department of fire services. Last year there were a total of 57 fire deaths in the state, up from 44 in 2013.

Ms. Mieth said the state has seen a “huge increase” in the number of fires that start on porches, balconies, stairways and other exterior areas, largely as a result of public health efforts to encourage people to smoke outside. Exterior fires, where smoke alarms are not required, often get going before the smoke enters the house and sets off an alarm.

“I think that’s probably what happened here,” Ms. Mieth said. She added that Mr. Cleary had most likely died from smoke inhalation, which is the most common cause of death during fires. She believed Mr. Cleary had turned back to get dressed before trying to escape.

Residential fires in Massachusetts are more common in the winter, she said, since people spend more time inside and put more pressure on their heating and electric systems. But Mr. Shemeth said Edgartown sees “a normal amount of fires” in the summer as well. “We probably get more chimney fires in the winter, because people are heating with wood or pellets,” he said.

Most fires start in the kitchen, Ms. Mieth said, since people often walk away from the stove when they are cooking. In the event of a fire on the stove, she advised, put a lid on it and turn off the heat.

Carbon monoxide is the most common threat during a fire, but Mr. Shemeth pointed out that new houses are often full of plastics and other materials that produce toxic chemicals when they burn.

“The toxicity of the air that’s in the building is extremely, extremely dangerous,” he said.

Fires typically double in size every 60 seconds, leaving only about two minutes for people to safely escape. Ms. Mieth encouraged people to have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms on every level of their house, and to practice a home escape plan, especially if there are kids in the house, with two ways out for every room.

Getting outside quickly should be your first priority during a fire, Mr. Shemeth said.

“It doesn’t matter what’s in the house.”