Fire at historic Wells farm in Riverhead deemed non-suspicious as family vows to rebuild

The day after a fire at the Wells family farm in Riverhead, Todd Wells had no doubt about staying on the land where his family had been growing potatoes for 11 generations.

"The future for us is picking up the pieces and continuing," said Wells, 64, who runs the farm with his son, Eric. "We’ve been here forever and we’re going to continue."

Monday's blaze, which damaged a barn being used for storage and chickens, was the second in six months for the farm, which has operated since 1661. In November, some of the family's critical operations in three buildings went up in smoke in an even bigger blaze that killed several animals.

The recent fire destroyed more than half of one barn’s roof and fallen debris could be seen both inside and outside the building. Water from firefighters' attempts at extinguishing the flames was still visible on the grounds.

The buildings damaged by the November fire and the one impacted Monday were not insured, he said, because the family didn't have the money to make the payments.

Wells said the timing of the fire is frustrating, as the family's financial hardships are made worse by recent increases in the price of gas and diesel used in its trucks.

An inspector met with Wells Tuesday morning to survey the damage.

Wells said he was grateful for the fire department’s efforts. "It was an accidental fire not caused by anyone," Wells said. The cause has been ruled non-suspicious, according to Riverhead Town Fire Marshal Andrew Smith.

Riverhead Fire Chief Piotr Kurzyna said the strong winds Monday night were a factor in the fire spreading but firefighters were still able to get chickens out of the burning building.

The fire took place on the opposite side of the property from where the November fire erupted. Two of the three buildings that caught fire have been demolished and a third was being rebuilt.

Four pigs and between 20 and 30 chickens in the barn were killed in the November fire. The family was able to save about 19 pigs, ranging from about 10 weeks to 1 year old, which were moved to a pen with sheep outside.

Two of the destroyed barns, which were attached to each other, were built by Wells' grandfather in 1963 and 1965. A third one was built by his father about 30 years ago.

The farm used those buildings to pack and store potatoes, its main crop. Since the November fire, farm hands have used another building. But Wells said that fire severely hurt their business as they are forced to sell potatoes at a lower price than before.