Firemen battle the blaze in 1979.
Welcome to Verbatim, a re-telling of anything and everything on
Nantucket through your own words. We accept photos, writing, and pretty
much anything else that is an
expression and celebration of the community we live in and the beauty
around us. In this week's Verbatim, H Flint Ranney provides pictures and a written account of Preston's Fire in May of 1979.
Submissions may be sent to ackweb@plumtv.com, or dropped off at our office location in digital format at 4 North Water Street, Nantucket, MA 02554.
Preston's Fire May 1979.
Pictures and written account.
Preston's was a favorite bar and restaurant at Nantucket Airport which
burned to the ground in a rare 2-alarm fire in May 1979.
Reportedly, customers at the bar when the fire started refused to leave
until they had finished their drinks.
A valiant effort by the Nantucket Fire Department to save the building was
thwarted by lack of water, which had to be trucked to the scene by tankers
from the nearest hydrant at Milestone Road.
With construction of the Nantucket Inn on the site and the expansion of
Nantucket Airport, town water was brought in to the area.
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