VIDEO: Pier fire at Old Reliable Fish House in Provincetown

PROVINCETOWN – Teamwork prevented a fire from potentially becoming a major blaze. Fire broke out in the pier alongside the abandoned Old Reliable Fish House Restaurant off Commercial Street shortly after 4 p.m. Before firefighters arrived on scene members of the public along with personnel from TowBoat US Provincetown started a bucket brigade which slowed the fire’s progress.

When crews arrived they had to saw open parts of the pier and building to completely extinguish the fire. Had the alarm been delayed or the fire happened at night, the stiff southwesterly breeze could have quickly whipped the flames up. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation. The former restaurant sits in the shadow of Whaler’s Wharf, scene of one of the worst fires in the town’s history in February 1998.
Reporting photo and video by Tim Caldwell/CWN