Firefighters rescue guests as historic Nantucket hotel turns into inferno, officials say

A historic bed and breakfast on Nantucket burned down as firefighters helped rescue guests, according to officials in Massachusetts.

The Veranda House, owned by the Nantucket Resort Collection, caught fire just before 7 a.m. on July 9, according to a report from the Nantucket Fire Department.

The Nantucket Fire Department, along with other fire departments from Cape Cod, responded to the hotel to find “heavy fire” that was consuming all three floors of the hotel, the report says.

The Nantucket Resort Collection says its buildings were built in the 17th century.

An off-duty fire captain and several civilians ran to the location when they heard about the fire. The captain and others went into the hotel “without protective equipment to assure everyone got out of the building,” the report says.

The off-duty captain helped a few guests who were in the hallway leave the building before trying to search further. He was “driven back by the intense heat and smoke,” the report says.

All patrons of the hotel were evacuated. Fire spread to two other buildings, but the value of the damage is still unknown, according to the fire department.

Two firefighters were taken to a hospital with heat exhaustion and a third had a back injury, the report says. No one else was injured.

The Veranda House was bought in 1881 and converted into a boarding house, according to the Nantucket Historical Association. Electric lights were added in 1889.

The Veranda House and the Chapman House are closed because of the damage, according to the Nantucket Resort Collection. Regatta Inn and Shelbourne Inn, two other hotels on the property, were unaffected by the fire and are still open.

“The Veranda House team is deeply grateful to the Nantucket Fire Department and first responders for their quick action taken during this incident,” Nantucket Resort Collection said in a statement. “With the support of all the first responders, and our local community members, we can confirm that all employees and guests are safely evacuated.”

The Veranda House is a “boutique hotel” with 18 rooms, according to the website. The Chapman House is a mansion built in 1830 with 15 rooms.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to a report.

This story was originally published July 10, 2022 at 3:42 PM with the headline "Firefighters rescue guests as historic Nantucket hotel turns into inferno, officials say."