Fire destroys Coast Guard station in Martha’s Vineyard, forcing people to flee by boat

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Fire ruins Martha’s Vineyard Coast Guard station

CHILMARK, Mass. — A massive fire has destroyed a U.S. Coast Guard station on Martha’s Vineyard, the popular Massachusetts tourist spot where President Barack Obama and his family vacationed last year.

People were forced to evacuate the 22-person facility by boat.

Petty Officer 3rd Class James Rhodes says there were no immediate reports of injuries Monday in the blaze at the Coast Guard station at Menemsha Harbor in the tiny town Chilmark.

Fire Marshal Stephen Coan says the fire quickly engulfed a boathouse, a pier and several private boats. The station’s 47-foot boat left just before the pier went up in flames.

Coan says the blaze appears to have begun in the boathouse. The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined.