Assisted by three other towns, Chilmark volunteer firefighters quelled a fierce fire in the wee hours Sunday morning that completely destroyed an unoccupied single family home.

Aquinnah, West Tisbury and Tisbury provided mutual aid. — Mark Alan Lovewell

West Tisbury, Aquinnah and Tisbury fire department responded on mutual aid, Chilmark fire chief Jeremy Bradshaw told the Gazette. Chief Bradshaw said a neighbor called in the fire at 2 Other House Road off Bassett Place Road in Chilmark at 3:04 a.m. The owner of the home is listed as James G. Logue. No one was home at the time, Chief Bradshaw said.

The chief said Chilmark arrived on scene about seven minutes after the call and found flames shooting 100 feet in the air from the home. “A structure completely engulfed. There was not once piece of wood that was not on fire,” the chief said.

“It looked like I was looking through a house but every single piece of wood was on fire,” he continued.

He said the house was built in the 1960s and “there’s not much to it. That’s why it really went quick, there was nothing to hold it back.”

No one was injured Chief Bradsahw said. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but the chief said it appeared to have started in the area of the house where the mechanicals were located. “Something must’ve shorted out and it happened really quick,” the chief said.

Structure was reduced to charred rubble. — Mark Alan Lovewell

Chief Bradshaw said he had been out on an alarm call from 1:00 to 1:40 a.m. earlier Sunday morning and drove past the house and saw nothing. “Whatever happened really flew through that place. It was a little windy but I was surprised with how fast it was engulfed,” the fire chief said.

With mutual aid from the three other departments, firefighters were able to put out the blaze in about an hour, Chief Bradshaw said. West Tisbury and Aquinnah provided assistance with firefighters and vehicles, while Tisbury firefighters helped establish draft and fill tanker trucks, Chief Bradshaw said.

The house was reduced to a charred rubble. Chief Bradshaw said he stayed at the site until he was sure the area was clear of any threat of a brush fire. “There were a lot of embers going everywhere but we had a little dew last night so that helped,” he said.