Historic Wells Farm Barn Burns in Riverhead, Second Fire in Six Months

For Laura Wells, whose family has farmed the same land on Sound Avenue since 1661, Monday brought a second catastrophic loss in six months: another barn at Wells Farm reduced to collapse, this time as first responders raced to pull animals from the structure before the roof gave way.

Riverhead police responded to a structure fire at 5048 Sound Avenue, at the rear of the Wells Farm property in Northville, at 1:11 p.m. on March 30. Arriving officers and firefighters found the barn already engulfed. Crews from Riverhead, Jamesport, Mattituck and Cutchogue fire departments worked for roughly two hours before bringing the blaze under control.

"The challenge was the wind and also it's an old structure," Riverhead Fire Department Chief Pete Kurzyna said. "We had to make a push, but we had to get our guys out. The roof did collapse."

A fire marshal on scene said chickens and baby chicks were inside the barn but believed most were saved. Sound Avenue was closed between Phillips Lane and Church Lane throughout the response, snarling traffic along the North Fork corridor.

The Riverhead Town fire marshal has opened an investigation into the cause. Police described the fire as non-suspicious, but no formal determination has been released. Anyone who witnessed the start of the fire or has relevant information is asked to call the Riverhead Police Department at 631-727-4500; calls will be kept confidential.

The March 30 blaze follows a devastating fire on November 12, 2025, when flames tore through barns on the same property, killing multiple pigs and chickens and sending three people to the hospital for smoke inhalation, including two of Laura Wells' granddaughters, who were transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center. A Riverhead police officer also required treatment. More than 50 firefighters from ten departments battled that fire, which took more than two hours to control; tanker trucks were brought in to supplement hydrant water pressure on the rural stretch of Sound Avenue. The cause of that earlier fire was never publicly determined.

That unresolved question now hangs over the second investigation. The gap between the two fires, roughly four and a half months, leaves open whether structural or systemic risks identified after November were addressed before March. Neighbors and fire safety advocates have raised concerns about the vulnerability of aging wooden farm buildings to electrical failures, heating equipment, and stored materials.

The Wells family established its North Fork operation in 1661, and the 300-acre farm remains one of the oldest continuously operated agricultural properties on the East End. After the November disaster, a neighbor launched a GoFundMe campaign titled "Help Rebuild Wells Farm After Devastating Fire." The second blaze significantly deepens that rebuilding challenge.

The fire marshal has not indicated a timeline for releasing findings.