A 32-year-old man died late Wednesday night in a house fire in Edgartown, according to police, and two other occupants were injured. Police said an investigation has concluded that the fire was started by improper disposal of smoking materials.
David Cleary was found dead inside the home he owned on Boylston Drive, Edgartown police Det. Sgt. Christopher Dolby said in a press release. Three other occupants evacuated from the home, he said. Two of the occupants sustained injuries and were taken to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, authorities said, and one was taken to a Boston hospital by MedFlight. Police said the man was injured as he attempted to rescue Mr. Cleary.
Edgartown police and fire received reports of a house fire at 25 Boylston Drive at about 9:10 p.m. Wednesday. The single family home was "fully engulfed in flames" when police arrived. The fire was extinguished by about 9:45 p.m., Detective Sergeant Dolby said, though fire personnel remained on the scene all night.
Police said four people were at the home. Three occupants on the first floor discovered that the fire had started on a screened-in porch. Mr. Cleary was on the second story of the home, police said, and the other occupants called up to him. Mr. Cleary had just gotten out of the shower and was wrapped in a towel, the occupants said, and he initially began to evacuate with the others but then turned back. Once the occupants were outside they realized that Mr. Cleary had not left the house.
The other occupants made efforts to get back into the house, police said, but were turned back by the flames. Mr. Cleary was later found fully clothed on the first floor of the home. Police said an autopsy will be conducted by the state medical examiner’s office.
While a spokesman for the state fire marshal’s office said early Thursday that some reports indicated Mr. Cleary returned to the home to save a pet, Detective Sergeant Dolby said there was nothing to indicate that happened, though he said there did appear to be evidence of a cat in the house. Sergeant Dolby said it appeared Mr. Cleary returned to get dressed.
A press release from the state fire marshal’s office and other authorities said that Mr. Cleary was trapped by the heat and smoke of the rapidly growing fire. There was no evidence that the home had working smoke alarms, authorities said.
Police said the occupants had been smoking cigarettes on the screened-in porch prior to the fire, and that area was determined to be where the fire originated. "Additional evidence led investigators to conclude that the fire was caused by careless disposal of smoking materials," the police statement said.
Jennifer Mieth, spokesman for the state fire marshal, said fire investigators were on the first boat over to the Island Thursday morning to investigate the cause and origin of the fire. The fire marshal’s office worked with the state police and local police and fire officials as well as the district attorney’s office.
The Oak Bluffs fire department responded as mutual aid to the fire and assisted the Edgartown fire personnel.
The fire marshal and other fire personnel were on the scene of the fire early Thursday morning, where yellow police tape has cordoned off the one and a half story home, which has severe damage.
According to town assessors records, the 1,324-square-foot home is owned by David and Jennifer Cleary.
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