Fire sparks in vacant Riverhead house, burns couch
Town fire marshals are investigating a fire that sparked in a vacant Riverhead house Sunday morning and burned through a couch inside before firefighters were able to respond and extinguish it.
The fire started about 7 a.m. at 70 Segal Avenue in the Milbrook Gables neighborhood off East Main Street, where someone had called 911 after seeing smoke rising from the building.
Riverhead and Flanders firefighters responded to what was described as an active fire and quickly brought the blaze under control.
Firefighters were wrapping up the scene by 8 a.m.
No arrests or injuries were reported by police or volunteers.
“It’s a vacant house,” said Riverhead Fire Department spokesman Bill Sanok. “The police thought someone was in there so we called Flanders’ rapid intervention team.
“If people were in there, they could have gotten them out in a hurry.”
Riverhead fire marshal Dave Andruszkiewicz said only that “an investigation is ongoing.”
This was the same house at which members of the district attorney’s East End Drug Task Force raided in February and arrested a 41-year-old man, Michael James, on drug charges.
Mr. James is due back in court on Sept. 18.
