Cigarette Caused Riverhead House Fire That Killed 5: Police

RIVERHEAD, NY — A cigarette started the massive Riverhead fire that ripped through a 1905 home, leaving five dead, police said.

Suffolk County Police said last week that the fire was caused by a cigarette but did not give specifics as to where the cigarette was found or where the fire began on Nov. 16.

Keith Polchies said he and his fiancee, Cindy Wilson, who both lived in the three-story house, were watching a movie that finished around 10 p.m.

"I always walk my dog Zeus right before I got to bed," Polchies said. When he got back 10 minutes later, Polchies said he went upstairs and soon after, smelled smoke.

Although the details are foggy in the panic that ensued, Polchies said he was told that his second-floor neighbor Adam Starsiak, who lived in the front apartment with his mother, Lori, yelled, "Fire!"

Polchies bounded out of his apartment and raced for the fire extinguisher.

"But there was no extinguishing that fire," he said. "It was massive."

When asked how he felt about the news that the fire was caused by a cigarette, Polchies said: "It was very unfortunate."

Describing the night Polchies said he was screaming at Cindy, telling her they had to get out, there was no time. He was wearing just shorts with a T-shirt and no shoes, Polchies said. Cindy threw on some clothes and they ran down the stairs with their dog, frantically calling for the building's landlord and owner on the first floor to get out, too.

The whole time, Polchies said, he was screaming at the top of his lungs, yelling "Fire!" But his five upstairs neighbors never came down. Never even came out of their door to see what was going on, he said.

Killed in the fire were Zonia Dinora Rivera Mendoza, 41, Carlos Alberto Ramos Aguirre, 25, Carlos Cífrelo Penate Rivera, 25 — Carlos died a day after his 25th birthday — Andrea Isamar Gonzalez Rivera, 16, and Douglas Edgardo Rivera Aguirre, 27. A mother, daughter, son, and two nephews, lost.

Polchies said he is wracked with anguish over their deaths. "Why couldn't I save them?" he said. "If only I could've gotten up to the third floor."

But there was no time for anything as the inferno raced through the 100-year-old wooden building. "By the time Cindy and I got out, the entire house was in flames," he said.

According to Suffolk County Police, responding officers were at the scene within a minute of the 10:38 p.m. 911 call.

Police said in November smoking was a potential cause of fire; that was confirmed last week.

When asked about smoke detectors, Suffolk County Police Detective Lt. Kevin Beyrer said in November they couldn't definitively say if there were any but, "there is no indication there were any present or going off." Police did not immediately respond this week to a question about smoke detectors.

The owner of the building could not immediately be reached for comment.

The home had great historical significance in Riverhead. According to Riverhead Town records, the three-story, cross-gable Victorian style home was built circa 1905 and featured turrets and Tuscan columns. Known as the Price Northridge House, the home was originally designed by William Sidney Jones for Augusta Price, a Brooklyn attorney.