Night Fire in Edgartown Leaves Fourteen Brazilians Homeless
By MANDY LOCKE
Charred Portuguese prayer books, scalded refrigerators and a
few box springs are all that remain of the worldly possessions of 14
Brazilians who had been living in a three-bedroom house in Edgartown.
The owners of the Tisbury Inn plan to demolish the old building
early in February, with an eye toward building a new hotel and health
center. Susan Goldstein, who with her husband Sherman owns the inn, said
yesterday they are talking with local contractors about taking down what
remains of the complex, at the head of Main street in Tisbury, which was
ruined in a fire that began in the evening of Saturday, Dec. 15.
The Tisbury Inn was destroyed Saturday night by a fire that started
in mid-evening and wasn't fully extinguished until late afternoon
Sunday. More than 100 firefighters and public safety personnel were
called to the center of the town to fight the blaze at the landmark
hotel.
One of the Island's most historic mansions, the Corbin-Norton house on Ocean Park burned to the ground in the midst of a heavy gale Monday night.
By the time firemen arrived, the house was fully involved, fanned by northeast winds as high as 40 miles per hour. Oak Bluffs fire chief Dennis P. Alley said it took firemen from three towns more than four hours to gain control of the fire and prevent it from spreading into the neighborhood. Mr. Alley said he determined the cause of the fire to be electrical wiring in an outlet behind the wall in the first-floor living room.