Town Takes Steps To Demolish Riverhead Home Ravaged By Fire

RIVERHEAD, NY — Months after a fire ripped through a historic Riverhead home in November, leaving a family of five dead, progress was made this week for the burnt-out building to be razed, officials said.

A town building inspector went and tagged the home as unsafe and put a notice on it a few weeks ago, according to Riverhead Town Supervisor Yvette Aguiar. The owner was notified, and then stated she had a contractor contracted to demolish it, she said.

"However, we passed a resolution this past Tuesday to demolish the home, in case, the home is not demolished," Aguiar said. "If it is not demolished, the town has the legislation in place to demolish it. The cost will be put on the owner's tax bill."

Explaining why the badly damaged and charred structure has stood for months, a stark reminder of the devastation, Aguiar said a process commenced allowing the homeowner, Carmela Cannella, to demolish the home.

"She looked at various contractors and needed to absorb the cost of the home," Aguiar said. "Incidentally, it was not insured."

Aguiar said homeowners, under certain conditions, have upward of one year to move forward with demolition.

After the building was deemed unsafe, Aguiar said," a certified copy was sent to the homeowner."

Cannella, when contacted by Patch, said her contractor was working with the town to demolish the home. "Everyone is working toward that," she said.

In March, it was determined that a cigarette started the massive Riverhead fire that ripped through the 1905 home on Nov. 16, 2021, police said. Five people died. Suffolk police did not give specifics as to where the cigarette was found or where the fire began.

After the fire, the town board made revisions to the town's rental code, with an eye toward safety, Aguiar said, including that third-story homes have a secondary egress or a fire suppression system.

Keith Polchies and his fiancée Cindy Wilson escaped the home where he'd lived for 15 years. He described the nightmarish fire to Patch. A mother and her son, Lori and Adam Starsiak, also escaped with just the clothes on their backs.

Cannella, who was living in the home, also survived.

According to Riverhead Town Police, the five people who died were all found on the third floor of the East Second Street home and were third-floor residents.

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

A man who lost his sister and four other relatives in the blaze described his anguish to Patch.

According to Suffolk County Police, responding officers were there within a minute of the 10:38 p.m. 911 call. The homeowner lived on the first floor, and escaped; the second floor had two apartments each with two occupants, and the third floor had one apartment with five occupants.

A second-floor resident went out to walk his dog and then returned and was getting ready for bed when he smelled smoke and heard his across-the-hall neighbors yelling, "Fire!" police said.
Neighbors were grief-stricken and shocked the day after the blaze as they gathered across the street from the blackened structure, the smell of smoke still heavy in the air.

Steven Tracy, who lives directly across the street from the fire, was visibly distraught. "It was horrible. I saw my windows glowing and I looked across the street and the whole house was on fire. Every floor was on fire," he said. Tracy said he knew some residents on the second floor, who escaped. "But everyone on the third floor — they didn't get out," he said. Tracy said he does not think he will be able to sleep for some time. "I can still hear the sound of them screaming."

Aguiar told Patch that the home was an owner-occupied, four-family residence. In recent months, code enforcement had visited the home eight times and called twice, trying to get the town's rental agreement renewed; once that rental agreement was renewed, there would have been a new inspection required, she said. The owner was then cited in October with failure to renew the rental agreement, she said — adding that the agreement expired in 2020, during the pandemic.

Riverhead residents Arlene and Brad Tuthill were also shaken as they stood before the charred building. "My heart just goes out to those people," Arlene said. "I hope they didn't suffer too long."She added, "This is something none of us will ever forget."

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.